Wild Intervention
by Sobakiin
Summary: Across his journey, the Hero of the wild had experienced little but sorrow and regret. And yet, despite his status, none could help him. None except an old friend, whom the hero had forgotten. A fiercely loyal warrior who he had met in a past life. A man who was more than capable and willing to help the hero. (First story. Feel free to be honest in review. Tell me how to fix it.)
1. Chapter 1

_Drip…_

 _Drip…_

 _Drip…_

If nothing else, it was good for keeping the time.

 _Drip…_

Every minute, on the minute, exactly on time, another _damned_ drop falls into that _damned_ puddle, and that _damned_ noise echoes out through the room.

 _Drip…_

It was as if a chisel was periodically striking his patience, slowly breaking down his normally stone-cold demeanor, gradually making him more and more pissed off. Pissed at what? Nothing quite in particular, mostly just in general, but partly at himself.

He could have plugged it when he started waiting, but no. He was a battle hardened warrior, and there was no way in hell a simple leak in the shrine's ceiling was going to defeat him. At least, that's what he said to himself at first. For a while, it seemed he was right. In the beginning, the noise meant nothing to him. However, it seems that they have made themselves more present over the last 99 years, 11 months, 29 day, 23 hours and…

 _Drip…_

58 minutes.

If nothing else, it was good for keeping the time.

Goddesses know, he wanted to leave, he wanted to get up and see history unfold as it was supposed to, but that was just the annoyed part of him talking. He had a promise to keep, and above that, he had already changed enough that, even if he left, the upcoming legend would still be forever changed because of him.

 _Drip…_

The man begun stirring. The time had almost arrived for this legend's hero to rise again, and, despite his annoyance, the man still had some preparations to finish. He stood up, his ludicrous height forcing him to crouch slightly, and finished writing the sign. It was just then that it had occurred to him that the hero might not be able to read anymore. It was a possibility, however slight, a possibility of the type which annoyed the warrior to no end.

 _Drip…_

 _Vrrrn…_

His time was up. The hero was healed.

He stood once more, forgetting how low the ceiling was, and cursing in annoyance as he waited for the pain in his head to subside.

The warrior turned to face the land supposed savoir…

And all of his built up anger was washed away by what he saw.

It was rare for the man to show any sliver of emotion other than rage, rarer still when people were around, but what he saw in that so-called bed of resurrection was enough to bring a tear to his otherwise empty eyes.

In all the time the man spent siting, waiting, counting the minutes go by and turning them to hours and turning the hours to days and so forth...in all that time he had forgotten just why he was siting there in the first place. However, the sight that greeted him when he turned around was enough to make him start reminiscing.

He remembered why he helped that boy with the flute stop the moon. He remembered why he helped that young lone wolf find his shadow again…

And he remembered why he brought the zora to the shrine of resurrection to heal with the hero. The zora who was currently embracing and being embraced by the hero. The man didn't know wether they were embracing just because the bed was made for only one person and was cozy to say the least with two occupants, but part of him wanted to believe that, by some miracle, they remember who the other is, and remember the feelings they shared for each other.

Now, some would assume that he was spell bound to their lineage, cursed to help them all through some malicious spell of some sort. Others might think that the warrior simply enjoys screwing around with history, making the world flow as he saw fit.

Those some and others would be wrong. No, only the man himself knew why he did what he does. It had no singular reason, really, but there were two that seemed to be the primary driver for his actions.

The first was a secret that he intended to take to his grave, and the reason he shed tears upon viewing the sleeping couple: despite appearance, actions, attitude and achievements, the man had a large soft spot in his heart for tragedy, and enjoyed fixing them whenever possible.

The second reason was because of a promise he made to the flute boy when he had finally reached the end of his time in this realm.

" _A promise that I intend to keep_ " he thought to himself as he turned for the exit.

Before leaving, he called out into the dilapidated shrine:

"Alright then, Mr. Hero, nap time's over. It's time to wake up…"


	2. Chapter 2

"...you have some work to do" was the last thing he heard before silence once again overtook the room.

He didn't want to get up he was still tired from...wait why was he tired again?

It was then that he realized he didn't know why he was sleeping.

It was then that he realized he didn't know where he was sleeping.

It was then that he realized he didn't know who he was.

He felt that he should panic, or be scared in some way, but the fact of the matter was he didn't remember how to panic. He didn't remember much of anything. The only things he remembered was the voice that told him to wake up, and some personal oath to silence, strange as that was.

 _mmmmf..._

It was then that he realized that, wherever he was sleeping, he wasn't sleeping alone.

He was holding someone. They felt...different than he thought one should. Scaly, cold to the touch, yet still soft. The feeling comforted him, as if he knew it from somewhere. He wanted to stay curled up with this...person(?) forever. He didn't want to move.

The problem was that he also didn't want to be cold, and he soon realized that they had nothing to keep warm with. No blankets, no bed sheets...no clothes. That thought sated his desire for warmth, more so when he payed closer attention and realized that, who or whatever he was holding, they were female. Whether girl or woman, he couldn't tell, as she felt rather small in stature. His flush with embarrassment didn't keep him warm long, and he soon discovered that the bed was about as soft as metal.

" _Fine"_ he thought. " _I'll get up."_

And he finally opened his eyes...

To come face to face with what was simultaneously the most adorable and most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

Whoever this scaly woman was- and he was now somehow sure that she was older than him, however old that is-, in his eyes, she was perfect, even if she smelled a little strange. He leaned back slightly to acquire a better view, and was instantly reminded that she was completely naked, with him in naught but boxer shorts. Embarrassment flared once again, but try as he might to look away, he couldn't help but notice how different the two of them appeared. His flesh was beige and soft, almost squishy, and he felt rather vulnerable with nothing covering him, but her, she had armour built into her body. Brilliant red scales from her crown to her shins, while her face and stomach areas had a more white colouring to them. Adding to their differences, her arms and legs and even her head were decorated with beautiful fins, reminding him of a fish.

What does a fish look like again? He couldn't remember.

Carefully, so as to not disturb his bedmate, he lifted himself from the bed to take survey of their surroundings, or at least tried to. His sides and gut felt as stiff as the bed he was just laying on. Cold, stiff, yet surprisingly not hungry, considering he just came from sleeping, he tried once more to rise, worrying that the cracks and snaps of his joints might wake up the red finned girl. Slowly, carefully, he rose from their shared place of slumber, and after a good stretching, he took his first good look of the room he found himself in.  
After a quick look over, he came to the conclusion that, if this was his bedroom, he would definitely need a hire a new decorater. The walls and ceiling were made of some sort of metal, unlike any he had seen before. Granted, he didn't have much, or anything really, to compare it to. What fascinated him even more was the choice of lighting. Soft neon blue and orange light shined through intricate circular circuits across the walls. He noticed a rounded dent in the ceiling, wondering how anybody could reach to make it, the ceiling itself being an easy ten feet high.

" _The shrine of ressurection..."_ he knew where they were, or at least what it was called.

"...resurrection _...wait, was I dead?"_

Too many questions swirled about his mind, too many for him to consider all of them relevant. But the main question that was nagging at him was why there was a wooden sign posted next to a small podium rising from the floor.

He walked over to read it, only to discover that he had apparently forgotten how to read.

It started to come back to him, and he tried once more:

 _Good morning. Nice to see you're finally awake._

 _First things first: your name is Link._

And just like that it clicked. Link. The name was so simple and yet it felt so natural. He didn't know why or how he knew the sign was right, but he did, and frankly, he didn't care. He was Link. What kind of person was Link? Well, that was yet to be seen, but at least now he had a name, which is one more thing he had than when he woke up. He continued reading:

 _Second things second: that fish girl that you were snuggled up with, her name is Mipha._

Link turned to look at his 'bed.' The red girl was sleeping as soundly as he had left her.

" _Mipha..."_

The name was not as instantly recognized as his own was, but Link was happy that he still found some familiarity with the name and face of the beautiful woman that he had shared a bed with. He turned back to the sign:

 _She might not look like much, but she will not doubt be invaluable through the upcoming journey that has been placed upon you both._

Link wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. Journey? What has happened that would require the aid of amnesiacs? Or were they chosen for who they were before? Whatever the case, he wasn't particularly interested in putting the quite adorable fish girl in harms way. Nevertheless, he kept reading:

 _And finally, last things last: take the thing from the top of this podium_

As if on cue, the podium started to whirr.

A small, thin plate with an eye on one of the wide sides rose up from the podium. Curious, Link took it and look over it on the side without the eye, it was a glass-like substance. Link touched it to investigate, and the glass began to glow with a bright light. His still sleepy eyes burned for a few seconds as both his eyes and the light adjusted to better suit the other. More words began appearing on the slate:

 _Ain't this something? It's called a Shiekah slate. There should be a smaller version in the podium for your fishy friend._

Sure enough, there was. It was small enough to fit in one hand, while the first required both, or at least, one very strong hand.

 _But I digress, this really isn't the time for sarcasm, no matter how annoyed that leak has made me. My boy, this land needs you. Both of you. Darkness has descended it's unsightly claws unto the country. You're the light that needs to shine on hyrule once again. People need to saved, and you're the only one strong enough to save them._ _You'll find some clothes for yourself in the next room, and the Zora (Mipha's species) don't typically wear anything. Just tap the slate on the sensor to open the door._

 _your benefactor, the behemoth with no eyes_

Link didn't quite know what to think. He wasn't sure if he could trust this so-called 'behemoth with no eyes'. He wasn't even sure he could trust Mipha when she finally came around, but at the same time, what if it was true? What if he really was the only one who could save this Hyrule place? He didn't know enough. He barely knew anything. The only thing he could currently trust was his own judgement, but for now, the only thing he knew for certain was that he was still shivering from the cold.

 _tap...tapatap.._

The sound startled Link, and he quickly spun to face it's source...

Only to face the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. Granted, again, he doesn't have anything to compare them with, but something in him said that they were more beautiful than all the world's oceans. What was an ocean? He couldn't say.

Mipha was awake, most likely from the noise of the podium, and despite his admiration for her appearance, Link took a step back, as if on reflex, like he was expecting her to attack him. He stood strong and ready, waiting for her to do something.

"Uh...um..." she stuttered out with visible difficulty. "D-do you...do you know wh-where...who..."

It seemed she had her own apprehension for talking with him, but instead of preparing for combat, she was simply afraid, and in this, Link sympathised for her.

 _"It would seem that we're in the same situation,"_ he thought to himself, " _Maybe I'm overreacting..."_

He knew what she was going through, he himself had just been through it minutes ago. She didn't know anything, and was afraid of were she was. She was surely cold, she was shivering as if there was an earthquake, and her joints were no doubt as stiff as his was, as just standing there seemed to be causing her pain.  
Though something in his gut told him to remain silent, his heart knew that she was trust worthy. He let himself relax before he attempted to speak. He wanted to make sure she knew that he wouldn't harm her. This seemed to help Mipha calm down as well.

"It's..." he tried, but was interrupted by a coughing fit. His voice sounded like sandpaper feels. Just one word and he was nearly choking on his own speech. His vocal cords were dry and rough from what must have been months of disuse. Now he realized why something told him not to talk. It wasn't to stay alert, it was to stay healthy.

"Oh my..." Mipha exclaimed, all signs of fear gone as she rushed to Link's side.

"Are you all right?" she asked, clearly worried, but Link couldn't answer.

"I...I feel like I can help...just hold still for me!" she ordered, lightly place her hands around Link's neck.

Said hands then began to glow. It was a soft light blue, not unlike the light coming from the walls, but it held a strange sort of comfort. A comfort that Link felt intensify in his throat, which than passed through his entire body. He felt stiff muscles loosen, he felt sore joints mend seemingly by themselves, and he realized that, whatever she was doing, it was healing him.

"There...I think..."she seemed just as confused as he was.

"I suppose interrogating you on that wouldn't yield much, would it?" Link asked, his voice now pitch perfect.

"No...I...I can't remember anything..." she said, fear returning to her.

"Hey, it's going to be alright." Link soothed, "I can't remember much either."

This seemed to calm her. "Do you...do you know who I am?" she asked.

"I don't know for certain, but there's a sign-" he pointed to the offending plank "- that says your name is Mipha."

Link saw it upon her face, the same look he imagined that he had when he learned his own name. The name fit what she remembered, her name was Mipha.

"Mipha...Mipha yes that's my name!" she stood excitedly, " And, according to that same sign, I suppose that makes you Link, correct?"

He stood up with her. "Yeah, that would seem to be the case."

"Then, the thing you're holding would be what was on the podium?"

"Also correct. There were more instructions on it, said that there was another, smaller one."

Mipha approached the podium, and picked up the said miniature slate.

"What are the called, and what do they do?" she asked, playing with it.

"Well, the large one is apparently called a shiekah slate, and-"

"Oh!" Mipha had activated her own slate, and was stunned by the brightness as he was. Link found the sight rather amusing: for such an elegant person hindered by so minor an attack. When she recovered it seemed that hers had a message rather similar to his, as her attitude took a sudden turn, slowly becoming more sullen, her posture slouching until she was kneeling. Link realized what she was thinking. She was afraid again, afraid of the journey ahead. A feeling that Link knew he had to stop. He crouched down next to her.

"Hey..." Mipha flinched, it seemed that she was too lost in thought to notice his approach. "I'm just as scared as you are, but if this is true, we need to do something."

"But...but why us?" her eyes widened, "is that why we can't remember anything?"

"I don't know, but if we were chosen, then there must be a reason. Me talking to you is proof that there's something about us that we still don't know."

Realization flashed in her eyes when he reminded her about how she healed his voice.

"I...I suppose you are right." she conceded.

It seemed that Link's comforting had done what he intended. They both rose and made their way to the door, and the couple left for the next room. Despite the very large hole, in both of their memories, Link found solace in the fact that he wasn't alone.


	3. Chapter 3

Lo and behold, the message left on Link's tablet was correct: The pair of supposed saviours found some clothes for Link to wear in the next room of the glowing structure. What was it that Link said it was called? The Shrine of Resurrection? Mipha had found the name needlessly disturbing, as it implied that both her and Link had died and were placed here to be revived. At any rate, the clothes seemed to fit. Though, "seemed to" is being generous. In truth, both the pants and shirt were either shoddily made or centuries old, as they were falling apart at the seams, not to mention they were a size or two too small. Link had joked that he'd be lucky if they didn't turn to dusty string the second he touched them. However, his jest was for naught, as they held together through the whole ordeal of putting them on.

"They're made better than they look," he remarked, putting on the shoes.

"I might have to agree...but... I feel the need to ask: Do you really think that I'm fine as is? That I don't require clothes?"Mipha questioned.

"Well...uh..."

Link's hesitation was both audible and visible, and this unnerved Mipha.

"Well, I'm still not sure we can trust whoever left these messages, but I think the combined facts that only one set of clothing was left here and that says enough. Honestly, though, we'll just have to wait and see. If it does turn out to be false, it shouldn't be too difficult to acquire an outfit for you." he responded, after some apparent thought. "Why do you ask?"

"I...no reason." she replied shyly.

 _"I don't want others to get the wrong idea about a man being followed by an indecently clad girl."_ she thought. A reasonable concern, but one she kept to herself.

"Ah, there we are." Link proclaimed as he stood up, finished with his shoes. "Let us continue, then."

It was then that Mipha noticed how carefree he was about their current situation. As for herself, she was barely able to keep her composure. Link's kind words before were enough to calm her somewhat, but she was still surrounded by uncertainty. Why couldn't she remember anything? What had happened to her that had killed her? Who was she to deserve to be revived? Why was she chosen to fight whatever hell spawn was supposedly loose on the land? Who was this 'Behemoth with no eyes', and why would something as terrifyingly described as that want to help her? Why was she allowed to not wear clothes? To many questions and no answers in sight, it almost made her want to go back to the bed. She assumed that this could drive nearly anybody to insanity. Nearly.  
Link, in contrast, was completely unshaken by any of it. He marched forward, standing tall and calm. No signs of fear were visible from what she could see. He walked right up to the wall where the collapsed stairs used to be, stared at it for a moment, and started scaling it like some kind of lizard. All this behavior just gave Mipha more questions, this time for Link to answer.

"Hm? what are you still doing back there?" He called from the top.

Mipha snapped back from her thoughts and moved to catch up. Whatever the answer to her questions were, she could tell that Link was brave at the very least. And like that, she answered one of her questions. Link was chosen because he was brave. He could handle the pressure and march forward to climb any obstacle. A realization that helped calm her nerves for the expectations placed on her. Whoever she was, she had an ally, one who was strong enough to share their burden. One that was more than willing to help her up the wall when she discovered that her smooth, scaled hands were not as suited to climbing as his. Whoever he was, Mipha was glad Link was here.

Another door greeted them at the top of the hurdle, one that could, presumably, be opened with Link's slate, just as the last one was. After a large breath, he stepped forward towards the sensor. The mechanism hummed when he held the sheikah slate over it, just as the last one did. What made this door different, however, was the blinding light that shone through the doorway as the door exited it's home. It was far more brilliant than the soft blue that dominated the structure. Brighter even than either of the sheikah slate devices that initially blinded the two. Mipha couldn't see anything but white for what she felt was five minutes. When her eyes finally adjusted, she saw nothing but green. Her companion was the first to step outside, and judging from the look on his face, he had the same reaction as her. Green easily dominated everything she saw, but the more she looked, the more she noticed more colours. She followed Link, out into this wild new setting, only to be stunned by a far superior view. Even though she couldn't remember any other examples, she knew it ranked among the most beautiful scenes she had ever seen. It was as if the world's finest landscape painting had come to life before her eyes. Tall, sturdy columns of brown topped with green were doted along the green covered plane inclined towards her, some even baring spots of red. Other things hid among the green, peeking out of their hiding spots with their stunning colours. Occasionally, a grey or brown or black speck would run to the next column, surely searching for food. The view stretched to the horizon, and even beyond, a great blue backdrop accented everything in the perfect way, spots of white perforating it every here and there. Behind her, she noticed the door they emerged from was built into an enormous unassuming wall of grey with bits and pieces of varying colour about it. It took her a moment, but she found names for everything she saw. Grass, trees, fruit, flowers, animals, sky, clouds, cliff, _n_ _ature_ and all her beauty. She was almost sad that she couldn't see all of it at once. However, she began to notice more unsettling details. The nature was beautiful yes, but under it's exterior hid the remains of what used to be a road. Whatever structures she could see were left in ruin, no sign of anything but wildlife being anywhere near it. Scraps of shattered masonry were strewn about with little rhythm or reason, just as a child would leave their toy blocks after destroying whatever they had built. The view was beautiful, but it told the saddest of tales to whomever bothered to listen. A tale that would soon be drowned out by the bellowing cries of the wild.

It was then that she noticed a bizarre movement. To her left, there was a man. She couldn't quite tell from the distance, but the stranger appeared to be a man. A rather aged one, at that. Link seemed to notice as well, as both he and the finned girl were staring directly at the old man. The feeling was shared when the elder stared back. The amnesiac pair turned and looked at each other, and silently agreed on their next course of action. The odd pair walked towards the man, though not in any particular hurry. Link stopped to pick plants from the soil, apples from the trees, fallen branches from the ground, anything within his arms reach, really.

"Why exactly are you picking up anything that you can fit in your pockets?" Mipha inquired, curiosity prevailing over her restraint.

Link shrugged. "Might be useful later." was his simple response.

And so, they continued, eventually reaching the man's camp site. In a word, it was simple. The man simply sat in a small natural alcove in the cliff face, a small fire burning in front of him. The man himself was indeed old as Mipha had guessed. He wore a brown patchwork cloak, his face barely visible under the hood, but his long white beard hung sprawled out on his chest. he held a simple looking walking stick, the only interesting feature being a lantern hanging from the top At first, he seemed to pay the pair no mind, so intent on tending to the fire that he didn't notice his surroundings. That is, until Link went to pick up a strange looking fruit on the ground.

"I beg your pardon?! I believe that is my baked apple! You can't just go around taking whatever you please!" the man declared adamantly. The sudden burst of noise made Link stumble. He fixed himself upright again and prepared to apologize, but the old man simply laughed and put up his hands to decline.

"Oho- forgive me, I could not resist pulling your leg. It's fine, I was joking. Help yourself. There is no shortage of apples around, and it's no trouble to bake them. What's more, an apple and an open flame make for a succulent treat." he explained calmly, "Why don't you share it with your friend there?"

At this, Link seemed relieved. He easily broke the apple in two thanks to how soft the fruit was after whatever baking had done to it, and passed one half to Mipha. The meat of the fruit was much softer than the normal variety, and far more sweet. Mipha found it delicious, but it was also quite messy, juice spraying out whenever she took a bite. Her pointed teeth were not suited for something so soft. Both her and Link mumbled a thank you through their mouthfuls of apple, and the man simply chuckled at the sight.

Link swallowed and wiped his mouth "What's so funny?" he asked

"Ah, it's nothing. Nothing at all." the man replied. "It's simply that I did not expect to find anyone else up here. Certainly not anybody bold enough to take another's food. Though, I suppose I did give it to you."

"Might I inquire as to where exactly 'here' is?" Mipha asked.

"Now, now, there's no need for such formalities, young lady. I am but old fool who has lived here alone for quite some time now." the man replied "To answer your question, this place is called the Great Plateau. According to legend, this is the birthplace of the entire kingdom of Hyrule. At least, that's the story the legends tell. Now, I'm afraid it's not more than a crumbling mess, perched high above anything else. The only reminder that there was anything here of any note is the run-down temple down the hill." He gestured out and around the walls of his small cave.

Mipha was curious, as was Link it seemed. they both stood and went to see what the old man was speaking of. To simply call it 'Run-down' did not do the dilapidated temple justice. Mipha was surprised it was still standing, what with how much of the walls it was missing. Any windows were long since shattered. The supports were barely accomplishing their namesake. Time had been as cruel to it as it had everything else in the area, but it was almost like it was refusing to crumble, persevering as though it still had a mission to accomplish. It was at once inspiring and terrifying.

"Stories say that people used to make spiritual pilgrimages there to pray in hopes of hearing answers from beyond," the man continued, "I myself don't believe it, as I tried it and heard only the wind blowing." He laughed at his own joke. "In any case, ever since the decline of the kingdom 100 years ago, it has sat in it's current state of decay. Yet another forgotten entity, a mere ghost of it's former self."

He had an air of sadness to him when he finished his story, nearly nostalgic. It was as if there was more to tell of the story, but he didn't want to share. Mipha decided not to pry. The two moved to leave, but Link had noticed something behind the aged stranger. He walked back and moved to take it when the man interrupted.

"Just help yourself to that torch, then." he said, and Link was happy to oblige. "Might I ask what you intend to do with that?"

"I don't know, set things on fire?"

"That's...concerning." the man replied "I suppose it would also make for a fine makeshift weapon, though branches are in higher abundance. Either would be effective against whatever beasts you find patrolling"

The mention of monsters immediately frightened Mipha. She was about to protest that there were no such things, when she heard a strange scream in the distance. That scream was all it took to remind her of the message she and Link had received on their respective slate devices. This kingdom of Hyrule, the place they were chosen to save, it was under attack.

"Are you alright Mipha?" Link asked, worried. The man was back to paying them no mind, tending to his fire.

"Yes, I'm...I'm fine. Shall we continue on? I doubt we will remember much just standing around here." she bluffed, "Perhaps that temple will hold something useful."

Link sighed, clearly not fully convinced. "Alright then, the temple it-Hey what's that in that tree stump?"

Mipha followed his gaze, and found the tree stump in question. The stump held nothing to it, but there was a curved sheet of black sticking out of it, and attached to the sheet was a handle of some sort. As they approached, a name came to them simultaneously

"A woodcutter's axe." they said at once. How they knew it was specifically for woodcutters, they weren't sure, but at least now they had another weapon.

Suddenly, Mipha heard a noise. Not like the monsterous scream from earlier. No, this noise was more of a chime accompanied by a buzzing noise. Mipha was fast to discover it was coming from the devices they had received in the shrine. Both of the pair checked theirs.

They had been sent another message.


	4. Chapter 4

_Good day to you both. I'm sure the view from the shrine has left quite the impression.  
I stopped and stared for a good half hour myself. It is quite the contrast to the inside of that shrine.  
Anyway, pleasantries aside, you two need to do something. It will help you with whatever you decide to do.  
There should be a map function on both of your slates. It might be blank at the moment, but there is a way to fill it out.  
I left a marker on the map, and if you go to it, you should find something to help give you a picture on what to do next._

 _Until next time, your benefactor,_

 _The Behemoth with no eyes._

Link was a little irritated at this 'Behemoth with no eyes' as he called himself. What gave him the right to give orders? What's more, how exactly was he beneficial to him or Mipha? He was just watching, standing far away as Link struggled to find his way through a world he didn't remember. It was irksome to same the least, but he supposed that, whoever this man or beast was, he had done nothing but give advice. Though, he could have at least given a name that was simpler to repeat.

"Can we really trust this man?" Mipha asked. "We don't even know if he is a man at all."

"I'm reasonably certain it's a he. I think I heard his voice back in the shrine, and I doubt a woman would have a voice as gruff as that." Link explained.  
He remembered what that voice had told him: " _Well, Mr Hero, it's time to wake up. You have some work to do."_ He sounded intimidating, but there were hints of empathy in his words, as if he had been through similar experiences. Link shook himself back to reality. " _This is no time to reminisce."_ He thought.

"In any case," Link continued, "he's the entire reason we even know our names, so I trust him somewhat."

"I suppose so. And...he was also telling the truth about the map, it seems."

Link checked his own slate, and the first thing he found was indeed some form of map, and it was as empty as the message said. What caught Link off guard, however, was that, despite how empty it was, he could still find his location. He was the tiny spec, just south of the middle, and if the rest of it was Hyrule, the upcoming adventure was going to be hell. The map was enormous in scale compared to the dot that marked his location, so large that Link couldn't even estimate it's size in measurements. Not even the outline that he assumed marked the Great Plateau was exempt from this gigantism, which said quite a bit, as it was the smallest area of any of the other outlines. It was a daunting thought, exploring every inch of this land, he hoped that he wouldn't need to, but either way, he wouldn't show his fear. He and Mipha were supposed to be the lands light, and light wasn't afraid. He would stay brave.

"I found the marker," Mipha said, showing Link her map. "The map says that it should be a walk north of here."

Link shook himself once again. "Ah, good. Shall we go then?" he replied, faking a smile.

The walk was a good way to clear his head and fill is pack. When Mipha had asked why he was picking up everything not nailed down, he didn't really have an answer. It was as if some reflex was telling him to do it, some mental quirk telling him that there might be something useful under any of the rocks they pased. It wasn't terrible, as he soon found himself with more apples than a family could eat, and food was a necessity. As the two went on, they saw a multitude of different bugs and small animals. Squirrels and lizards darted away whenever they approached. Dragonflies buzzed about while crickets chirped and hopped away. With the sun high, the scenery was quite nice. The grass on the ground turned to old road. They were nearing the edge of the forested area of the plateau. For a moment, Link had wondered what exactly had happened to this place, for it to have crumbled in a mere 100 years, as he assumed it would take a bit more than neglect for a stone road to fall under such levels of disrepair.

As if to answer his question, a shrill noise broke the silence. It was somewhere in between a squeal and a yell, and had a certain familiarity to it that made Link tense. It was the battle cry of a monster. They had been spotted. In an instant, a red mass leaped from the bush, weapon in hand, intent on striking down either of it's targets. In that same instant, Mipha screamed in shock, and old reflexes took over Link's mind. With a guttural yell that made it easy to see how he had lost his voice, he broke a tree branch over the beast's neck, sending it into a spiral, dropping it's weapon and flying back-first into a tree. Link moved to grab his opponent's weapon, and with it in the open, he had a clear view of exactly what it was he was fighting. Of all the words that came to mind to describe it, not among them was the word 'Natural'. It was , in a word, hideous. When it stood again, the being was hunched over, and something told Link that wasn't because of it's injury. The beast was vaguely humanoid, but it's claws, horn, and blood red skin told a different story. It had some features that Link described as 'Boar-like' in nature: a short, flat snout for a nose and long, floppy ears. It cried again, noticing that Link had taken it's poor excuse of a club, and stomping it's foot in anger. Link doubted that weapon in question would last long, but the poorly carved log would make for a better weapon than a measly branch. The monster charged, empty handed, towards the lightly clothed Hylian. Link jumped to the side, avoiding the punch it threw, leaving itself wide open for Link to string a flurry of blows to the beast. The club broke in the process, but the beast fell to it's knees, vanquished. In a matter of moments, it's flesh turned jet black and the body disappeared in a puff of dust, leaving nothing but a horn and some teeth

The adrenalin wore off, and Link discovered just how hard he was panting. Despite how much air was flowing into him, he kept finding himself in need of more. His muscles cried in pain as he fell to the ground himself, exhausted from the exertion. Somewhere, for some reason, Link learned how to fight, and it had somehow become as natural to him as eating or sleeping. However, as he had just discovered, however long he had been in that shrine recuperating, he had grown out of practice.  
Mipha rushed to him, surely worried that he had been injured in the fight. Seeing no external injuries, she shifted her attention to different points, seeing if she could diagnose his ailment.

"I suppose interrogating you about that wouldn't yield any answers, would it?" She jokingly asked, mimicking his question about her ability to heal.

"I suppose not." Link joked back in return.

"It doesn't seem to be too serious, you just pulled a few muscles from how tense you made yourself in that fight. I would assume it is because your body is out of practice. This shouldn't take to long to fix, but you should consider stretching before a battle if you can help it."

"I'll keep that in mind." Link chuckled in response, feeling better all ready.

"and...there. You are as good as new."

Link stood and stretched as instructed. He couldn't be too careful, there might be more of those things around.

"Do you have any idea what that thing is? Or...was?" Link asked, walking toward it's remains to collect what was left of it.

"I don't know if..." Mipha trailed off, thinking, "wait...Boko...bokoblin, yes that's it! Those monsters, they are called bokoblins. I think...I think they are one of the most common monsters."

"Lovely." was Link's solitary response. He decided to change the subject. "Shall we get going then?"

"I suppose we should."

And with that, the first battle of their adventure was complete, but something told Link that there would be no shortage of them in the future.

* * *

Now much more wary of their surroundings, they continued their walk to the point on their map. On the way, they passed by the temple that the old man had told them about. The pair had considered visiting it, but they spotted more of those bokoblin creatures patrolling the path to it, and decided to perhaps return when they were better equipped for it. Something told Link that three branches were not going to be enough. Farther down the path, there were more, but they were far more spread out, and what was more, the closest one was looking the other way. Link took advantage of their obliviousness, and struck them down one by one, the beasts finished easily with a swift blow to the back of the head. Link was thankful for how little weapons this wasted, and for how many he gained. Mipha tried to take one down herself, and she did so with as much ease as Link. It would seem that under her sleek appearance were some rather powerful muscles. As they went, different things were added to their combat stockpile: Large pieces of bark that could be used as a shield, bendy sticks with some string tied to either end so that it worked as a bow, and a weapon that Mipha was rather drawn to, a relatively long and sharpened branch, that she could use as a spear. Link couldn't quite tell why, but seeing the red zora wielding it just somehow felt right. As if there was an aspect from her missing the whole time, and the spear filled the hole left be it's absence.

"According to the map, the something-or-other should be right around here, but I don't see anything" Link said, and he was right. The grass covered ground had long since left in favor of beige rock, the area itself dropped in steep cliffs and hills. Far to the left there was a marsh looking area with a large black rock surrounded by water. to the right, there was a skull shaped rock filled to the brim with more of those bokoblin things, but the map said the point of interest was directly in front of them, and all Link could see in that direction was a small rock formation.

"Wait, look there, in those rocks!" Mipha exclaimed, pointing to the offending landmark, "There is a hole in the side, almost like an entrance."

It was just as Mipha said, it was almost like a small cave. However, after approaching for a better look, Link noticed something: there was a creature similar to a bokoblin standing guard, the only difference between the monsters they have fought all along the way was that this one had a dark blue colouration, which was most likely the reason they hadn't noticed it from a farther distance. Link didn't know why, but the sight of it made him uneasy. Something told him this fight wouldn't be as easy as hitting the beast with a stick. It would take a strategy to get out of this scrape alive, this was made all the more clear when link noticed that the beast had a sword. An honest to goddess sword made of sharpened metal for slicing and stabbing. The problem was that Link didn't have the ressources to make a fool proof plan. Anything that he or Mipha could think of was 50/50 at best. With only seven arrows, four boko clubs, two boko shields and a boko bow lined up in Links favour, and with Mipha's only arm being a single boko spear, their plans were severely limited. The plan chosen was the one with the best odds: sneak up and fill his head with arrows, then try and be fast about bringing him down. Link moved into position, and went forward.

At the very beginning, things went according to plan. The blue monster didn't notice Link approaching, and took all seven arrows in Link's quiver directly. Not all of them found the bokoblin's head, but it was successful nonetheless. It was then that it went south. Link hadn't noticed, but all of his clubs were damaged to some degree, their only use at this point being either one last hit or ballistic projectiles. All four were broken on the beast, and all they accomplished was making the beast angrier. Swing after swing the monster took towards Link, each either being blocked or evaded with difficulty, but the shield was dwindling, and both combatants noticed. One good hit, and Link's only defence was shattered, leaving him open for the beast's follow up. The slash flew true, and Link was on the ground. He screamed in pain, the monster making some deranged effort of laughing. It slowly advanced to deliver the last blow. Link closed his eyes, and waited. He had failed. He was going to die before he even knew what he was fighting against. So he waited for the last hit...

Only for the last hit to never come. The Bokoblin was the one screaming this time, and among it's cries of agony, he heard a single sentence said:

"You stay away from him, beast!"

Link pulled himself up to see what was happening, and what he saw was breath taking. What he saw made him understand why Mipha looked so natural holding a spear. It was because she was a natural at using a spear. Between Link and death, Mipha stood, spear in hand, beautifully beating back any attempt on his life. With expert timing, she dodged, the bokoblin's brutish swings, and for every slash avoided, there was three counter stabs to the monster's body. Mipha's attacks held such grace and precision that, paired with her elegant shape, one could only describe it as a deathly dance. She easily waltzed past any meager defence attempted by her dance partner, making him wish she was only stepping on his feet, and with one last mighty jab, her spear broke, and the monster was exeunt from the stage.

She turned to Link, her eyes filled with concern, and her face was the last thing he saw before passing out.

* * *

His eyes finally opened again, his consciousness returned to the land of the living, and yet still he saw red. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that it was simply Mipha, taking extra care to heal all damage he gained during his failed offense.

"Ah, you're finally awake. Are you alright? Nothing still hurts?."

"I...I think so. I didn't know you were so skilled in combat."

"I don't really think I am. I only feel skilled enough to fight with polearms." Mipha explained humbly. "I'm nowhere near as versatile as you."

Link knew that she was telling what she believed to be the truth, but the real truth was that she was better with spears than he could ever hope to be. He saw now just why Mipha was chosen to stand with him on this adventure. She wasn't just his failsafe in times were he failed, his second chance by healing. No, she was a warrior as strong as he was, his equal in battle. Neither were there to uniquely assist the other, they stood together against whatever this threat was. And thinking about it, He doubted he wold have it any other way.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I know, blue bokoblins only have around twenty health, but the one in front of the tower killed me so many times that I figured I'd make him more of a threat then he actually would be to a player worth his salt.

(p.s: I don't know if this is how you're supposed to make an author's note, did I do it right?)


	5. Chapter 5

**Place the Sheikah Slate in the pedestal**

Link was shocked when the inside of the rock formation spoke to him. He examined the source of the voice, the pedestal in question, hoping that it would reveal some answers, but he found none. It was made of the same material which constructed the shrine of resurrection, and was incredibly similar in appearance to the podium where he received the slate itself, but he could not find any way that it could produce the monotonous command. Unsure, he looked to Mipha for a second opinion. After her brilliant display of battle prowess and possible dancing skills, Link's empathy for the red-finned Zora girl has since turned to respect, a feeling which he hoped was mutual.

"Well, it opened the door back in the shrine, perhaps it will do something similar here." Mipha reasoned.

"Perhaps." he replied, unhooking the slate from it's holster on his waist.

The slate fit in the mechanism as perfectly as Link had expected, and once the piece of interest was in, the pedestal spun and whirred, until the top of it was flat with the slate's screen neatly in the middle. An orange interlocking pattern made itself appear when the pieces stopped moving, and Link heard the voice speak again:

 **Sheikah tower activated**

 **Please watch for falling rocks**

* * *

The man stared as he watched it all unfold. Birds fled from their perches among the trees as the very ground rumbled with fury. Squirrels stood petrified, unmoving amidst the tremors. From what he could see, even the monsters were wary of the sudden quakes, but the man understood what was happening. If the enormous tower sprouting from the ground like a bamboo shoot was any indication, the pair of revived champions have located and activated the sheikah tower. As he watched, the exact same scene playing out across the all the provinces within eyeshot. It seemed that, though their memories were entirely blank, their adventurous spirit had remained intact. He lamented slightly at the fact that he had to hold the truth from them, but he relented, assuring himself that it was only until they proved they were worthy of their past. It was simply a measure of protection so they could learn what they were capable of. Until then, he had to stay unmoved.

Though, in all honesty, Mipha's presence shocked him to his very core. He did not expect any among the other champions to rise alongside the blonde Hylian hero. He had heard that all four of them had died when their beast were overtaken, but it was apparent that was not the case, as Mipha seemed to be left intact enough to be rejuvenated with Link. The man chuckled to himself as he once again found the irony of their situation. They had the ridiculous fortune of avoiding death together, but for neither of the couple to have any recollection of one another, it was really rather tragic. Like something out of an emotional theater play.

However, there was hardly time to grieve. The tower had finished growing, as had all the others that he could see across the plains of the once proud kingdom of Hyrule, and the shrines of the plateau were active. The top of the tower extend, the tower itself gradually becoming engulfed in a radiant blue light. It was time to move. They may have been champions in a past age, but they needed some gentle persuasion I order to learn the new laws of this country.

* * *

Link groaned, slowly rising from the metallic floor. His body was still in slight shock, the earthquake had come from nowhere and had disappeared just as quickly. _What have I done?_ he remembered thinking to himself as the force of the floors vibrations pushed himself and his companion to the ground. His companion, who, not ten minutes ago, had saved his life with more elegance than anything else in nature, and was now still on the ground, even more dazed than he was. He held back a chuckle at her apparent duality. _It makes her rather adorable,_ he thought to himself, his respect for the red girl not diminishing in the slightest.

His head cleared as he realized where he was. That shaking, it wasn't an earthquake. Whatever this was when they had found it, it was now a towering pillar, standing tall and proud on the great plateau. The view rivaled what he had seen coming out of the shrine, taking his first breaths of this wild land. The tower's height provided an exceptional vantage point, his sight now reaching for kilometers around him, seeing not only the surface of the plateau. In the furthest distances, he saw mountains, towering even taller than the actual tower he was on, straight to the north, he saw massive plumes of smoke rising from the highest mountain, and lying to the east was a large peak, split down the middle by a river. The main point of Link's attention, however, was to the north, just before the burning mountain. There was a building, grander than any structure he had seen thus far. It was noticeably shorter than the summits surrounding it, but even from this great a distance, Link could tell that it would be far more impressive than any big pointed rock. It was clear that it was enormous, so big that it had towers, plural, of it's own. As impressive as it was, there was something amis. Large, glowing pillars rose around it, as if some massive hand was rising from the earth to take the stunning example of architecture. Something told Link that, whatever those were, the were not supposed to be there, encircling the pride of goddesses know how many stone masons.

 _A castle,_ he thought, _That building is called a castle._

 **Distilling local information**

The strange voice sounded again, drawing Link's attention from the castle in the distance to the pedestal next to him. There was black stalactite hanging over said pedestal, one that Link had not noticed while the tower top would be considered an archeological find. A single eye was imprinted on the very bottom of it, as if it were surveying the land around the tower. Suddenly, words started literally pouring down the upside-down obelisk, liquid speech gathering in a drop just below the eye. Link watched in awe tower's eye shed it's tear, the droplet landing perfectly on his sheikah slate. The man himself walked towards it with a burning interest. The map had somehow opened by itself, the area that represented the Great Plateau filling itself in. It seemed that the message he received was speaking in the literal sense when it promised that the tower could 'paint a picture on what to do next'. Mipha began to stir, shaking her head free of whatever hazy thoughts clouded it.

 _Regional map extracted_

A new voice, this time emerging from the slate itself went off, and the pedestal holding it transformed back into it's original shape, extending the device for Link to take. Before doing so, Link moved to aid Mipha, helping her up to her feet and keeping her steady as she regained her balance.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Link asked "There was a rather ungraceful _smack_ when you fell"

"I...I don't think I have anything serious. My head just hurts a little." was her response, unfazed by Link's small tease. "What hap...oh..."

It seemed that Mipha was capable of piecing together what had happened herself from simply looking around. When he was sure that she could stand well enough alone, Link moved to take his slate. It was just the same as when he had placed it in the pedestal, safe now it had an actual map. There was not anything immediately obvious left to do on top of the tower, so Link was just about to suggest climbing down, but he was stopped short when he heard something. I sounded close, but they were to high up for any noise as soft as this to be heard. It was truly baffling.

"Do you hear that?" Mipha asked.

Link nodded. At least he wasn't going crazy.

The noise went again, almost sounding like a voice. What was more, it seemed to be coming in the direction of the castle.

" _Remember..."_

It went again, now certainly a voice. A faint light shown from the castle, growing brighter by the minute.

" _Try...Try to remember..."_

The voice, definitely female, called out to him and Mipha, guiding their attention to the light.

 _"You have been asleep for the past 100 years."_

Before Link could process that statement, a fresh tremor erupted from the earth, shaking the tower vigorously. Red-black smoke began engulfing the castle, as if it were trying to snuff out the light that was talking to them.

 _"The Beast...When the Beast regains its true power, this world will face its end."_

The smoke began to materialise, taking the shape of an enormous monstrosity. It had no solid shape to it, but two horns, glowing yellow eyes a massive mouth was visible, and from that mouth came an ungodly noise. It was as if the death screams of a hundred people were overlaid with some twisted, out-of-tune string instrument playing a requiem backwards.

" _Now then..."_

The light intensified, taking this 'Beast' back to whence it came.

" _You must hurry Link...Before it's too late..."_

Too late? Too late for what? What was this beast capable of? Was that _thing_ responsible for what had happened to this kingdom of Hyrule? What was he meant to do? How could he have been asleep for 100 years yet still appear and feel 17 years old? 100 years...that was how long ago the old man said that the fall of Hyrule was. Was that monster the reason that he and Mipha needed to be revived? Too many questions swirled about his mind, and only a handful of them newcomers. There was so much he didn't know that he would need if he were to take on this quest. What the voice said was much, but there was so much missing from her explanation. Insecurity began bubbling from deep inside him as a new question reared its ugly head. What if he failed? Not even thirty minute past, he struggled facing a bokoblin, a mere insect compared to the whatever-it-was that was locked in the distant castle. He couldn't possibly face something like that and survive! It was even likely that he had already died trying to do just that! What could...

But then his thoughts of doom ceased. Mipha had put her hand on his shoulder. His nerves calmed, he turned to face her, seeing in her eyes that she was just as frightened as he was, but she stood resolute.

"It will be alright. You won't be doing this alone. You said it yourself: there is clearly more to us than we can see, a reason as to why we specifically were chosen."

She spoke the truth, and he knew it. His nerves now calmed, he stood straight once again.

"You're right. I'm sorry"

"There is no need to apologize, I'm as scared as you are."

They shared a bit of a laugh. There wasn't anything particularly humorous, but the tension practically slid off their shoulders thanks to it. Link was thankful for someone to share this with, he wasn't sure anybody would be able to do this alone.

"Now then, how do we get down from here?"

* * *

As luck would have it, small platforms doted up the tower in a spiral-like pattern. The platforms themselves, however, were far too small to accommodate two people, but Link, crafty as he is, devised the solution of carrying Mipha on his back. It wasn't the most comfortable solution for either of them, but Link was still worried about Mipha's headache, specifically, the effects it could have on her balance, so they carried on. Though he was sure that he had never done it, he couldn't help but feel like the situation reminded him of something, like he had done it before in an incredibly foul smelling environment. He was positive it was nothing, though. After all, how many situations could arise were one would be required to carry a female Zora?

It took them no less than a minute to reach ground level, not that the tower was short, but the stair-like platforms were far enough apart height-wise that there was an easy five meter drop between each one. Each landing stung Link's legs a little, but his focus was more directed on keeping Mipha steady. Once the ground was reached, he took extra care in gently setting her down, careful so as to not drop her. As both ancient warriors stood, they heard a gruff call coming from...above?

The tattered-clothes-wearing Hylian and his red finned company looked up, and could not believe their eyes. The old man who they had met outside of their shrine was the source, the pair discovering this as he slowly descended as if he were a bird. A very large, grey and brown bird who had a beard. The word 'Rito' came to Link's mind, as well as a slight annoyance at it, but he couldn't quite place the word's meaning.

"My, my...It would seem we have quite the enigma here. This tower and others like it have erupted across the land, one after another." the man said, his gaze slowly climbing the nearby proof. "It is almost as though...A long dormant power has awoken quite suddenly."

His eyes shifted back towards the strange pair. "If you do not mind me asking...did anything...odd occur while you were on top of that tower?"

Link didn't know if 'odd' was enough to describe it. He hesitated before answering, not knowing whether or not the man would even believe him.

"We heard a voice..."Mipha answered for him.

"Well now! A voice you say? And did you happen to recognize this mysterious voice?"

The two fell silent, not entirely sure if they truly didn't or if they simply couldn't place a name to it. The man seemed to interpret their silent consideration as a no.

"I see. Well, that is unfortunate." The man turned his face, looking towards the distance. "I assume you caught sight of that atrocity surrounding the castle. That...is Calamity Ganon."

Upon hearing the last phrase, Link's fear of the monster turned to anger. He knew not from where it originated, but it was as if his blood itself hated that fiendish name simply for existing.

The man continued: "One hundred years ago, that vile entity brought the kingdom of Hyrule to ruin. It appeared suddenly, and destroyed everything in its path. So many innocent lives were lost in its wake. For a century, the very symbol of our kingdom, Hyrule Castle, has managed to contain that evil. But just barely. There it festers, building its strength for the moment it will unleash its blight upon the land once again. It would appear that moment is fast approaching..."

He returned to the pair beside him.

"I must ask you, courageous ones...Do you intend to make your way to the castle?"

Yet another pause in the heroes in question. From appearances alone, Link could tell that Ganon was powerful, but it didn't quite sit right with him to leave a kingdom to be destroyed. What was more, he didn't really have anywhere else to go. Whoever was in the castle, whoever's voice it was that spoke to them, she knew them. Saving her could be their only ticket to unlocking their past. He looked to his left, finding Mipha looking back at him. She had reached the same conclusion. A simple, shared "Yes" was their response.

"I had a feeling you would say that." replied the Old Man. "Here, on this isolated plateau, we are surrounded by steep cliffs with no way down. If you were to try and jump off, well...no death could be more certain. Or more foolish."

The reasoning was obvious, but Link appreciated the man's concern.

"Of course, if you had a paraglider like mine, that would be quite another story."

The young Hylian's ears perked at the mention of an easy way down.

"Would you be willing to part with that, by any chance?" It seemed Mipha shared his thinking once again.

"Oho! Certainly! Why not? But there is no such thing as a free item in this world, you know. Let's see now...how about I trade it for a bit of treasure that slumbers nearby? Come, let me show you something."

The man took the lead, the glider-less pair following. The elder walked as slow as one would expect from an old man, but he was fast enough that it wasn't infuriating. He stopped and stood atop a short hill to the west of the tower, and pointed further west.

"Do you see that structure there? The one shining with the strange light?"

Link followed the man's gaze and saw the large black rock that he saw before, except now, it had a telling orange around the base. A glowing colour that he was sure was not there previously.

"It began glowing the exact moment those towers rose up from the ground. I would think such a place might house some sort of treasure, wouldn't you? Treasure for the paraglider. A fair exchange, I believe."

Link silently agreed, and with Mipha by his side, they begun the short trek to this glowing building, intent on commandeering it's contents.

Along the path they had chosen, there was a large body of water. To large to be called a pond, to small to be called a lake, just large enough for fish to live in it. Whatever the proper terminology was, Mipha slowed as they past, staring deeply into it.

"Say, Link..." she began excitedly, "what say you I get us something to eat?"

Food had been the last thing on Link's mind for the past while, which might explain why he found himself nearly salivating at the question. Before Link could answer, a feral growl rumbled through the open air. It was so beastlike that it took him a minute to realize that it was his own stomach. Mipha had a quick giggle at his body's answer.

"I'll take that as a yes."

And with that, she gracefully dived into the water as naturally as a person could stand. It seemed her fins were definitely not just for show, her speed in the water was nearly terrifying. With deadly grace she grabbed an unsuspecting fish with her left arm, and another with her right. In her dance's finale, she scooped one up in her mouth, her serrated maws in full view. Link was stupefied, he had never seen such a beautiful display of hunting. It was as if the art of killing game were nothing more than a game to her. With such fantastic swimming techniques being so natural, there was no doubt in his mind that the Zora were piscivores*. The graceful shark woman leaped from the water, clearly proud of her catch, and offered the two in her hands to Link, who graciously accepted them, putting one away in his bag for later. He would have to remember to never get into a swimming race with his partner.

As they continued on, they walked past a rusted out, old statue, one of many that doted the great plateau.. Link wasn't exactly sure what they were statues of, it was almost like a defense tower built on a giant spider. Whatever it was, there was a bit of an uneasiness in both explorers as they walked by, almost worried that it could come to life.

It took a good ten minutes of walking, but they had finally reached the glowing rock, the sheikah slate identifying it as _Oman Au shrine_ on the map. It was somewhat surrounded by a shallow pool and various metal objects. Link had spotted some chests lying at the bottom of the pool, and had considered letting Mipha swim down to pull them up, but they appear to also be made of metal, and would definitely be too heavy for both of them to lift out. However, Mipha had a better idea: she could simply open them while under the water, and indeed she did, receiving a gemstone each for her efforts. When they were certain there was nothing else of note in the pool, they approached what seemed to be the entrance to the shrine. A large door blocked said entrance, and to the right of this door stood a pedestal similar to the one that opened the door to the shrine of resurrection. Link assumed it would function the same way, and held out his sheikah slate to it.

 **Sheikah Slate confirmed.**

 **Travel Gate registered to map.**

 **Access granted.**

The orange glow was exchanged for a soft blue, exactly like the one from the walls of the shrie of resurrection, continuing the parallels between the two shrines. As the colour changed, the door swung inward, as if it were inviting the two to enter. The question was: enter to where? The inside of the shrine was cramped and empty, nothing but a circular pattern on the floor. The two walked in, slightly disappointed.

However, their disappointment only lasted for a meter inside. The second that they walked on the floor's pattern, it moved, disturbing both their balance, catching each other before they fell to the ground. It seemed their effort was in vain, though, as they were still descending. But it wasn't they who where falling, the very pattern they were standing on was lowering into the ground, holding them as a platform. Not knowing What to think, they looked to each other, the light disappearing from both their faces as they exited the range of the sun.

* * *

 _ **Author's note:**_

*Piscivore: An animal adapted to feeding on fish; fish-eating animal.

Whew, that was a long one. Longest one yet, actually. Pretty dialogue heavy, too. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it! Funny thing is, I actually planned for it to be longer, but I underestimated how long writing out the tower cut-scene was going to take.

Now, it occurred to me while replaying Breath of the wild to refresh my memory of certain events that I remembered a few parts of the game's beginning wrong, such as the layout of the shrine of resurrection, the directions from the old man to the tower, and the location of the blue bokoblin that one-shot me so many times. From here on out, be warned that I shall be taking a few liberties regarding the specific details across this story, but I will try and stay as true to the game as I can. For example, I tried to copy down the Old Man's dialogue word-for-word from the game.

Question: Should I edit my chapters so that you readers know exactly who's view point I'm writing in?

Author's note over.


	6. Chapter 6

Light finally returned to the pair of heroes, the platform ceasing its movement as it reached solid ground. It was bright, the third time since they woke up that they had been blinded. Their eyes eventually adapted to the neon blue that permeated the apparently underground room that they found themselves in. The room was strikingly similar to the shrine of resurrection: both shrines walls were made of the same ridiculously smooth metallic substance, both were lit by blue light, but one glaring difference was that this new place, Oman Au Shrine, seemed like it had gone untouched by anything natural. Nothing inside was decayed, there were no cobwebs doting the corners, it was as if the shrine had just now been built. A second difference was that a pedestal similar to the one they had found on the tower, stalactite and all, sat ahead and to the left. To the right of the pedestal, an enormous metal grate, like a prison's bars, blocked the path. Just before the grate, two large rectangular metal plates sat parallel to each other in an indent made in the floor, standing out as if they were hiding something underneath.

Before either could say anything, a voice reverberated throughout the structure:

 _To you who have..._

The voice paused.

 _I apologize, am I interrupting something?_

It was then that Mipha remembered what had happened. In her shock of the floor moving, she had puled herself close to her partner. It was then that she realized that she hadn't actually stopped embracing him. Her face turning as red as the rest of her, she jumped back and muttered many apologies to Link, who was...discreetly trying to keep himself from laughing?

 _Ahem...To you who have entered this shrine...  
I am Oman Au. In the name of the goddess Hylia,  
I offer you this trial._

 ** _Magnesis_ _Trial_**

While Mipha took a moment to better compose herself, Link took off to better survey their location. He seemed to decide that the only thing that he could interact with was the pedestal, approaching without hesitation. Mipha, on the other hand, was apprehensive at first, remembering how the last one they found caused a tower to shoot out of the ground. Link walked towards it anyway, probably because they also received a map from the tower. Mipha, remaining wary, followed behind her courageous companion, who had just placed his slate into the pedestal.

 **Sheikah Slate authenticated.**

 **Distilling rune.**

After the pedestal stopped talking, a similar scene to when Link had acquired the map played out. Text flowing down the sides of the hanging rock, the liquid information pouring into the slate. When the show was over, the slate's own voice rang out.

 _Magnesis rune:  
Manipulate objects with magnetism._

Neither Link nor Mipha knew what that meant, but this 'rune' had the same name as the trial, so perhaps they were connected? Link picked his slate back up, curious as to what the pedestal did to it. There was a new image on the screen, like a sort of diagonal U shape. Full of curiosity, Link pressed it, and at first Mipha thought that nothing had happened. She was quickly disabused of that notion when she heard Link gasp in amazement. She couldn't believe her eyes, or rather, Link's eyes, as they were glowing a soft red. Shocked, she could only think of one question:

"What's wrong?!"

"Nothing, it's just that everything is red." Link's answer didn't exactly calm her. "Especially those metal plates...wait, now they're yellow. Oh! I get it"

Mipha still didn't quite understand, and she was even more bewildered when Link somehow made the massive, solid-iron piece levitate simply by pointing his slate at it. It did not stop there even, wherever he pointed, the plate would move to the location with little delay, as if it was entirely weightless and under his complete control.

"Would you mind explaining exactly what it is that you 'get'?" Mipha asked, becoming a little impatient. Link appeared honestly shocked that the Zora girl could get angry. While it was true that she generally had a very gentle demeanor, there were limits to everybody's emotions.

"I...uh...The rune has some written instructions on the slate. This one, magnesis, it lets me move metal objects with it."

Mipha sighed. She had gotten worried for nothing. However he was doing whatever he was doing, it clearly didn't cause any harm to him.

"Very well," she responded, trying to regain her composure. "Now, how do you suppose..."

She was cut short when she noticed that the metal plates were indeed hiding something. The path to move deeper into the shrine was revealed by ink's experimenting.

"Ah. Shall we continue, then?"

* * *

The rest of the shrine went by rather easily, the majority of it being based around figuring out how Link could use his new found metal telekinesis to move past an obstacle. There was a wall made of stone blocks and a metal box nearby, so Link used the metal box to topple the wall. There was an enemy that bared a resemblance to the statues they had past on the way to the shrine, and it was dispatched simply by dropping that same box on it. The last main puzzle was to move a large slate around a solitary platform to act as a bridge between it and the next obstacle: a pair of huge iron doors. What to do here was obvious, open the door. At the end of the trial, the pair had made it, though, Mipha felt as though she hadn't truly overcome anything. Link was the one who did the heavy lifting. She laughed to herself at her clever little pun. With as little effort as pointing and twisting himself, Link opened the door, and Mipha could not believe what she saw on the other side.

There was a glowing blue cube with steps up to it. At first glance, it was nothing spectacular, but when Mipha looked more closely, she saw what it was. There was a man inside, thin and decrepit, his skin tightly clinging to his skeleton. Inside the cube the man sat still, unmoving, like he was waiting for something to happen. It seemed that 'something' was close at hand as Link walked up the stairs leading to the cube. He outstretched his hand and the blue construct shattered on contact.

 _You have proven to possess the true resolve of a hero._

 _I am Oman Au, creator of this trial._

Mipha gasped. She had never considered that the man formerly inside the cube was the same man who gave them this trial. That the old, thin skeletal remains was Oman Au. That would imply that he would have built this place when he was still young. Exactly how long has he been sitting down here, waiting for someone to arrive?

 _I am a humble monk, blessed with the sight of Goddess Hylia and dedicated to helping those who seek to defeat Ganon. With your arrival, my duty is now fulfilled. I was given a gift to bestow upon the hero, but I was never told that there would be two. I regret to say that I can only bestow this gift to one of you..._

Barely even thinking, Mipha spoke up: "Link deserves it more than I, please, give it to him."

Link turned with a shocked look on his face, but before he could protest, the monk continued.

 _Very well..._

 _In the name of the Goddess Hylia, please accept this Spirit Orb._

Once again, Link had no time to protest, as the Monk's gift flew to him as soon as Oman Au stopped speaking. It flew with a graceful chime towards the young Hylian, colliding with his chest and dispersing into his being. Link had received a Spirit Orb.

 _May the Goddess smile upon you._

Oman Au spoke his last words to the pair before fading out of this mortal plane. His trial had been cleared by the hero, he had no reason to wait any longer.

* * *

The outside was just as bright as they had left it, but judging from the position of the sun, it would not stay that way for much longer. They walked on with the intention of searching for the old man, but first they heard another cry from above. It was the old man, showing off the paraglider that he had promised them. He landed next to the shrine and greeted the two exiting it.

"It seems you managed to get your hands on a Spirit Orb. Well done!"

Mipha was shocked. The man had simply asked for treasure and clearly only one with a Sheikah Slate could open the shrines. How could he have possibly known exactly what was hidden inside? Mipha was about to ask, but Link had the very same thought.

The man had a chuckle at the question. "Clairvoyance! Or perhaps just something similar. As one gets older, it can be more difficult to see what is right before one's own eyes. However, that which was hidden from view can often become crystal clear. But perhaps that is not true for everyone!"

Mipha wasn't quite sure she believed that explanation, but she doubted that they would get a better one out of him.

"The appearance of those towers and the awakening of this shrine..." He pointed towards Link, "It is all connected to that Sheikah Slate you carry on your hip there. It has been quite some time since I have seen that Sheikah Slate..."

He paused, as if reminiscing. "Long ago, a highly advanced tribe known as the Sheikah inhabited these lands. The great power of their wisdom saved this kingdom time and time again. But their ancient technology disappeared long ago... Or so it is said. It is interesting, however, to think...how something like that survived all this time, hidden away in a shrine."

With that line, Mipha knew that this man was hiding something, or at least wasn't telling the whole truth. He knew more than he let on, but she knew straight interrogation would bare no fruit. And so, she let the man continue. He spoke of numerous shrines, just like the one behind them, lie dormant across all of Hyrule, three more being on the plateau alone. He also moved to change their initial deal:

"Bring me the treasure from each of those shrines, and I will give you my paraglider."

It was unexpected, but still easily doable. The hardest part would of course being finding them.

"Might I suggest using that tower as a vantage point? Of course, I don't mean for you to climb it. I'm sure you've noticed spots like the one you're standing on in certain places that you have visited."

The two looked down, and sure enough, there was a pattern by the foot of the shrine. A strange glowing circle, a reoccurring theme in the shrine of resurrection and in the tower.

"What of them?" she asked.

"They are called travel gates. As their name implies, you can use the sheikah slate to travel between any of them that you have found." The man explained.

Yet another strange specific for him to conveniently be aware of, she thought. Link was fast to try it out, and sure enough, he tapped his slate and disappeared. Not quite disappeared really, more, become disassembled into strands of blue light. Whatever the case, Mipha was shocked. She could not think of an explanation of what had just happened. Enough was enough, she turned to face the Old Man...

Only to find that he had fled the scene. Mipha had no ideas as to what to do. She stood there, alone in the mouth of the shrine, until her own slate shook, likeit was trying to get her attention. She pulled the slate from her waist pouch and looked to see a message, and imagined it to, again, be signed by this 'no-eyed giant' or some such. Sure enough, her feeling was right. This unknown person who she only knows two descriptive features of, and this was his shortest message yet.

 _It occurs to me now that I have neglected to tell you anything about your own mini slate. Well, it works as follows: It is linked to the regular one, any trick the big one learns, th small one can do just as easily. Try out magnesis on some of the crates around the shrine. Also, if you two are ever separated, it should have a function to send messages like this one between each other._

 _Your benefactor, Well, you get it by now, I'm sure._

Despite being even more irritatingly vague than usual about his -if it even is a man- identity, the message was legitimately helpful. She would have to try out the runes later, for now she needed to figure out how to use the travel function. Currently, the only other feature her, and by extension Link's, slate had was the map, which, now that she was looking at it did have strange markings where the shrine of resurrection and the tower were located. It was as good a lead as any, so she tapped the icon, only to lose the ability to feel her feet. Then her legs. She realized what was happening just as it sped up. Her body was turning to glowing blue ribbons, just as Link had. She closed her eyes and hoped for the best.

* * *

Not even a second passed before Mipha could feel her feet again. The transportation was almost instant, but at the same time felt like it took three minutes. She wasn't sure what to make of it, but she had more pressing concerns. Concerns that died when she looked around and found Link, unharmed, and looking towards the mountains in the east of the plateau. She sighed with relief, a noise that alerted Link.

"You shouldn't just take off like that. I didn't know what happened to you, and the old man disappeared." Mipha said, trying not to sound like she was complaining. "He is definitely not telling us everything."

"I was surprised as well." Link responded. "You're faster than you look, sir..."

He paused, searching the top of the tower like he had lost something. He progressively became more confused as he couldn't find whatever it was that he had lost.

"What are you looking for?"

"Funny you should mention the old man. He was just here, he was here before I arrived, but now, it seems he's made himself scarce."

That part confused Mipha just as much as Link appeared. The Old Man was here? How? The transportation function was instantaneous, how could he move so fast?

Link steadied himself, sighed, and spoke. "I agree when you say that he isn't telling us everything, but he's said enough to help us. I'm sure there's more to these shrines than just acquiring treasure."

Mipha wasn't sure what to think of Link's outlook on these situations. He was headstrong, but would always consider his actions. He was rational, but it seemed that was only because he knew he could handle it if things went sour. Whether she would call that courage or recklessness, she also wasn't sure. Whoever he was, he had the mindset of a warrior, and the features of a noble. A rather attractive noble, she would admit to nobody. In any case, she sighed once more, this time in defeat. His explanation did make sense, after all.

"I found all three shrines that remain on this plateau. If the first one was any indication, I doubt, we will be staying on the plateau much longer."

"Very well, let's play this man's game for a while more. I don't quite trust him, but you drive a good point."

Link offered Mipha his arm to hold.

"Shall we be going then?"

Mipha had a small laugh, and took the offer.

"Yes, let's."

* * *

 ** _Author's note:_**

Shorter than the last one, I know, but if I crammed the second shrine in, it might have been too much. Sorry this one took so long, I've been a little distracted trying to beat Half-Genie Hero. Anyway, If it gives you something to look forward to, next chapter will have that first guardian fight that we all died to on our first play through (Yes you did, don't lie), and, if all goes to plan, the acquisition of the warm doublet and the first visit to the temple of time.


	7. Chapter 7

"So, what exactly did the old man say to you while you were on the tower?" Mipha asked, trying make conversation.

A particular shrine was just walking distance from the tower, at most maybe ten minutes, so the supposedly heroic duo decided to make it the second shrine that they visited.

"Well, first he made a joke about me taking so long." A joke that had occurred to Link as rather out of the ordinary. He could have sworn the transport was instant. "And then he told me about the Slate's scope function."

"Scope?" Mipha sounded intrigued by the new function, so link went on to explain it. The Slate could be used as a sort of pseudo-binoculars. With the push of a button, you could see far away objects as if you were right beside them.

"As an added bonus, you can place 'pins' on whatever you're looking at, and see them on the map. That's how I found the last few shri-wait...oh, we're here."

They had arrived at the second shrine location. It was a ruined abbey, nothing but a stony skeleton of what was probably a beautiful place of worship. The sight sent a chill down his back, but not because of how badly it was destroyed. There were a bakers dozen of those spider-tower statues lying about the place, guardians he had remembered they were called. He had seen them before, even hit them a few times to receive a spare screw or gear for his trouble, something about this guard graveyard that put him on edge. He looked back down at his map. This was unfortunately the place, and he had a very bad feeling about it.

They walked together, Link crouched and silent, Mipha following suit. He kept trying to calm himself. He wasn't being rational, he thought, these could never by any sort of threat, they were statues. He didn't trust his thoughts, and certainly didn't trust these heaps of scrap metal. There must have been a reason they were called guardians, perhaps related to the reason they were made of the same metal he found in the sheikah structures, or why there was a small moving one in one of said structures. If the small one could move...

His thought was interrupted by a sonorous clanging. Link looked back at Mipha, but she was nowhere near anything that could have caused that noise. Instead, she was looking past him with fear in her eyes. He turned back around to be met with the eyes of a different kind. One of the guardians was far from a statue.

It's body, still black with age, now had a purple glow across the indents of the metal. The tower portion was built on some sort of pivot, no matter where Link moved, it's gaze followed, along with a red line that blinked with increasing urgency as time went on. it gaze was unblinking, staring directly at it's target, following it with every step or evasive maneuver it took. It was made for hunting down enemies, that much Link could tell. Absolutely nothing good could come of it staying here, Link needed to be fast, but then he remembered something. Something important. He remembered that he wasn't the only thing that it could consider a target. As fast as he could, he grabbed Mipha by the hand, the zora girl still petrified in fear, and pulled her behind the nearest slab of what used to be a wall. A high-pitched ding went off just as he pulled her behind it, and tell tale sound of an explosion echoed through the area, the source the other side of the makeshift cover they were laying behind. Directly following the noise, searing heat blasted through the air. Mipha winced, trembling. She was terrified, holding him for dear life. Link doubted she could move, even if she wanted to, and Link didn't blame her. They both had combat experience, they both knew how to swing a sword, but this? It would be suicide to try and fight it. It's skin was solid metal, there was no possible way that the weapons Link pilfered from the bokoblins would do anything but break. With no other options, Link sat still, waiting for another strike. He sat and waited...

And waited...

And waited...

It wouldn't be long now...

But it wasn't coming. No other blasts, no _ting_ as it flew through the air, not even any beeping. The only shot the malicious machine fired from it's maniacal mechanical eye was the preemptive strike when it first saw them. It was still there, it was still active, the whirring told Link that much, but it wasn't doing anything except whir. Link wondered what it was doing. Surely it knew they were still there, it hadn't seen them leave their cover. Part of him knew that the only way to find out was to look, but the rest labelled it as an overpriced gamble. However, there really was no other way that he could think of. He steeled himself, ignoring his fear, and looked...

Only to find the relic of destruction rotating it's head, searching for it's targets. In that moment, Link discovered the guardian's weakness. It had the power of an entire infantry, but was about as smart as an infant. If it lost sight of whatever it was chasing, it would nearly immediately lose interest. This was useful information, there must be some way to exploit it. A problem persisted with any plan he made. The problem being that the guardian was in the middle of a clearing, directly in the path to the shrine. A new problem arose when the guardian's search brought it back around to where Link was sitting in plain view. His mind changed gears into fight or flight, and for some reason, he chose both. Before he even realized it, he had loosed a shaft from his bow into the rusted defense machine's eye, stunning it. He had made an opportunity, they needed to regroupe. Mipha was still dazed in confusion, so he picked her up in a fashion that he wished wasn't called bridal style and ran like hell.

* * *

Outside of the abbey and away from the literal dead-eye, the now-feeling-less-than-heroic pair sat and caught their breath. There was a lot of nerves to calm between the both of them before any type of plan was made. They both sat, leaning their backs against the outside wall. Mipha was still visibly shaken, and Link completely understood how she felt. There was a lot more to do before they could truly call themselves heroes. Despite the gloom of failure, Link thought of a way to help ease their recovering.

"You know...It's kind of ironic." He started, breaking the silence. "Those things are called guardians, but all they do is attack anything that moves."

He made an effort to laugh, trying to lighten the mood. Before long, Mipha joined him in laughing. Once again, there was nothing funny, but there really wasn't much else to do but laugh.

Nerves finally calmed, it was time to build a plan. Thanks to link's discovery of the guardian's pitiful field of vision, they came up with the completely brilliant idea of walking around the eastern abbey and climbing over the walls on the behind the shrine. The static orange glow was almost welcoming after their confrontation with the contradictorily-named guardian. It appeared exactly the same as Oman Au's, but Link suspected that Ja Baij shrine as the map called it would have an entirely different trial under it. He and Mipha walked forward. They had just stared death in the eye, this wouldn't be much trouble.

* * *

 _Your resourcefulness in overcoming this_  
 _trial speaks to the promise of the hero..._

 _In the name of the Goddess Hylia, I bestow  
upon you this spirit orb._

It was over fast, Link already accepting the shrine's treasure. The trial was completely different in design from the first, but similar in nature. It was made to be completed with a function of the sheikah slate, a new one given at the beginning. This trials rune was rather basic, but was nonetheless effective at doing it's job. the remote bombs came in two types, round and cube, and the name of the rune was really self explanatory. They were feather light, though they were large, and they packed quite a punch. During the trial, Link had stood in the blast radius by accident, leading to a lot of groaning and a quick heal from Mipha. As the Monk said his farewells and departed for the next world, the two adventurers left for the penultimate shrine of the Great Plateau.

It was dusk by the time the exited, a strange sadness following the hour of twilight. The dark made for poor vision, and eyesight was a valuable resource in this monster infested land. They might need to set up a camp site for the night. For now, Link seemed to be intent on finding the third shrine. By some stroke of luck, it happened to be almost directly west of them, through a concentration of birch trees. So towards the birch they went, striking down camps of bokoblins and strange, slimy creatures on the way. It was honestly hard to believe they had almost died not even an hour ago to a decaying pile of rust.

The sun travelled its own path, reaching the horizon by the time they made it well into the brush. Night was imminent, but the darkened sky called attention to something in the distance. There was an inviting orange glow deeper into the trees, too bright to be a shrine. Link's interest was piqued as he picked up his pace, beckoning Mipha to do the same. As he had suspected, what he found wasn't a shrine, but a small woodland cabin, no bigger than could be of use to one person. A fire pit was in front of it, accompanied by a log for sitting on and a torch to light the flame. The pit itself had a metal dish-what were those called?- a pot above it, most likely for cooking. Link was curious. The old man had mentioned that another person was a rare sight up on the great plateau, so whose house could this be?

"Fancy meeting you here." Said an old, grizzled voice.

Of course. Link had completely forgotten that the old man himself was living on the plateau for a while. The man himself was walking back from even deeper into the trees, an axe balanced on his shoulder, like he was gathering wood.

"Well, make yourself at home. I'm afraid it isn't much, but it's comfortable. Should I light the cooking fire?"

The word caught Link by surprise. "Cooking fire? This isn't a camp fire?"

The man laughed, a common occurrence, Link had noticed. "Well, I suppose that could be the case but..." He grabbed the torch, lighting the tinder. "But the pot makes this a place of cooking."

Cooking... the mention of it lit a spark in the depths of Link's memory. Cooking, the word sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it. Though he couldn't remember a meaning, instinct took over his mind. Muscle memory was all he needed. From out his pack, he pulled bits of everything: honey, apples, mushrooms, poultry, rice, herbs, anything that could he could use. The old man hummed in interest. Soon, the tiny spark grew into a blaze, he worked the cooking pot like a magician. Minutes passed by the dozen as he made dish after dish, his appetite growing with the smell, as well as the impressed stares from his bystanders. He didn't know how he was doing it, he was barely even registering what he was putting in, but he definitely knew one ingredient: his passion for cooking. How could he have forgotten something he enjoyed so much? The thrill of new ingredients, the satisfaction of a finished dish, and most of all, the smile on peoples faces when they tried his food. Mipha hummed with delight as she took a bite of his first creation, an omelette seasoned with nuts and honey. The old man joined the chorus of happy eating when he tried a steamed stamella mushroom seasoned with a acorn. The ingredients Link used were simple, no doubt, but that was the beautiful thing about the culinary arts: it wasn't what you used, but how you used it.

The old man made a noise, as if he had come to a realization.

"I just remembered, I have some spare ingredients that you could use inside. Wait here, would you?"

With that he went to his little cabin, and came back out with two or three peppers in hand. Link was eager to try a new recipe, accepted the man's offer, and got to work. The particular recipe he had in mind was brilliant, combine steak meat with seafood and spice it with a pepper. When he finished, the old man gasped in surprise.

"But that's..! The spicy meat and seafood fry! I've been trying to remember that recipe for days now! How did you..."

It was by sheer luck that Link discovered the recipe, but the man was intent on thanking him properly. With the paraglider reserved for a previous arrangement, he said that there was only one other thing that he had to give.

"Here, you can have my old warm doublet. It should keep you warm for the more frigid areas of the plateau."

Link was unsure. "But, then what will you use? That cold area makes up half the plateau."

The man laughed once again. "I'll be fine, I have a great recipe for a spicy meat and seafood fry, after all."

With a bit more convincing, Link conceded and accepted the gift. It truly was quite a warm shirt, and far less worn than the sheet of string he had previously. As dusk turned to night, the sole three inhabitants of the Great Plateau sat and enjoyed the fire, as well as whatever else Link could stir up in the pot until he ran out of hyrule herbs. With really nowhere else to go, the two adventurers decided to stay by the fire 'til the dawn broke.


	8. Chapter 8

Light shone on Link's eyes, waking him from his rest. It seemed that he sat by the fire so long that he fell asleep. The sun was peaking over the horizon, shining directly into his face. It was a welcome wake up call, but the act itself was rather unpleasant. Mipha sat next to him, using him as a makeshift pillow. As he was, she was blissfully unaware that dawn had come, hiding her head in Link's shadow. Carefully, so as to not wake her, Link stood to stretch. Despite having just taking a nice rest, it turned out that a log was no better a sleeping place then that bed of rocks in the shrine of resurrection. His back was terribly stiff. With a loud crack, he relived the problem, accidentally waking his sleeping partner. She seemed just as shocked by the sun as he was.

"Hmmm...Did I fall asleep?" she asked between yawns, trying not to fall back under.

There it was again. The adorable contradiction in her appearance and attitude. Link tried his hardest not to laugh, but a smile managed to breach his defenses. But, now was not the time.

The sun was up, so light once again ruled the plateau. It would be far easier to find that third shrine. Link checked his map again, this time with a land for reference. The shrine in question was just west of where they were, but Link couldn't see hide nor glow of it. He tried using the scope. Surely, it should be able to see the pin on the map.

See the pin it did, and Link's expression soon turned sour.

"Link...? What's wrong?" Mipha asked, still half-asleep.

Link took a breath. "Well, the good news is, I found the shrine."

Link found it atop a sheer cliff, easily a mile up. He knew some recipes could reenergize whomever ate them, but there was no way there were enough bee hives and mushrooms on the plateau to last for that long. They had come this way for nothing.

Well, that wasn't the whole truth. Had they not come down this way, Link would not have gotten his new shirt. There was still the mater of finding a way to access it, but that could be solved with the map, he was sure. In the meantime, he needed to restock his inventory.

* * *

"Are you sure that you're not a hoarder?" Mipha asked again as Link moved to take the meat of his seventh boar.

It had started rhetorical, an innocent joke, but the more she asked, the more it felt like an actual question. Link had only one answer for her, that everything he picks up might come in handy later.

"I'm not sure what use you'll find for twenty-five hylian mushrooms, but if you say so."

They had moved to the northern forest to see if they could find a way up the cliff, but there was no such luck. On the way back down, they had met again with the plateau's sole hylian resident, who had a thing or two to demonstrate about hunting for meat. The forest was bountiful with foodstuffs and materials, but there was not much else to it. With nowhere else left to check, the duo moved to investigate the temple that the old man had shown them when they had first met him.

Together, the blonde-hair Hylian and the red-finned Zora stood at the path's entrance. In the distance the temple stood, its central tower standing proud. Even at the base of the temple's hill, Link could see the decayed carcasses of guardians, most likely the cause of the temple's partial destruction. Down the hill, other buildings doted the walkway, the roofs all missing. The sight saddened Link. It once held such stunning architectural beauty, but now, it laid worn and moss covered, infested with monsters. Side by side, the two marched up the hill. They passed a building, the second on the path, nothing unusual at first glance, but there was something abot it that interested Link. He walked in to the buildings remains, spying a chest in the back. Link wasn't sure what it was about that chest that caught his attention, but it held him there. He moved towards it, barely noticing the bokoblin which soon slept once Mipha caught it. The chest opend easily, and inside, were a pair of Hylian trousers. There was nothing particularly impressive about them, but Link was happy for more durable legwear.

Onwards, they continued. Bokoblins came and went as they passed, the monsters dispatched in not even a quarter minute by the combined combat prowess of the intruders. Flight after flight of stairs went as they continued, their destination growing ever closer.

From a distance, it was impressive, but when standing directly in front, the Temple of Time, as the map called it, was magnificent. It stood tall, taller than either of the pair could have imagined. The central tower reached into the heaven, as if it were competing with the sheikah tower. The design was nothing short of stunning. Arches, windows, minute details, everything the walls had to offer were there to impress. It must have taken at very least ten of Hyrule's best masons to design it. However grand it was, though, it had lost it over the ages. Cracks, vines and moss peppered the sides like the symptoms of some sick disease. Guardian carcasses lie rampant, no doubt the cause of this destruction. What was more shocking was what wasn't there. A massive section of the wall and the ceiling it held up was entirely missing, as well as one of the three columns built into the front of the temple. Almost every other window frame was little more than a decorative hole. What was once such an amazing building, now sat still, rotting away by the unstoppable force of time. What was more, Link could not help but feel like he knew the building. Not in the way that holding a sword or aiming a bow did, no. Whatever had happened in his past, this temple held none of it. No, it was familiar in the same way carrying Mipha was, like he was remembering something that had never happened to him. Whatever the case, they had arrived. With a sigh, the pair walked in.

* * *

The second Link had saw it, his mind fell into a haze. He walked towards it with nothing but instinct, like his soul itself was driving him forwards. He felt a nearly maniacal grin growing on his face as he walked, his target frozen, motionless. It must have been terrified, its only predator approaching, nothing but fear in its mind, paralyzing it. Even if it could move, nothing could save it. It was in Link's sights, and now, in his hand. His eyes filled with a crazed look. He raised it to the heavens, showing his ancestors his prey. He had it. He was going to destroy it. His very blood commanded him to.

"Link? What are you doing with that pot?"

Mipha's voice broke his trance. He turned and saw the zora girl staring with great concern on her face. It was then that he realized what he was doing. It was a pot. He had caught a clay pot. He had no explanation for himself. Understandably embarrassed, he put down the offending piece of pottery. So many of his instincts cried in defiance, but he left it be and moved his attention to the rest of the temple's interior. There was nothing much that couldn't be said about the outside. However, there was one point of interest. In the very back, on top of an altar, there was a large statue surrounded by several smaller statues of itself. Link knew what this was. He didn't know how, but he knew that this was the goddess Hylia, the creator of Hyrule. The prayers made in this temple were all made to her. However, besides her statue, there was really nothing of note.

Suddenly, a bizarre noise came echoed through the room. It was loud, almost directly in Link's ear, but he couldn't find the source. Just then, a thought occurred. Link reached to his waist and pulled out the sheikah slate. Sure enough, his hunch was correct. The screen of the slate was fragmenting, the image being distorted. It opened the rune section by itself, and a new rune appeared. The second it was downloaded, the noise stopped. The screen was normal again. Curiosity piqued in both present, the new rune was tempting. However, there was no description for it. All it had was a name, if it could even be called that:

 _M11B-0*_

That string of letters and numbers were the only identification the rune had. Link was wary of the rune, but his curiosity triumphed. He selected it, his vision changing similarly to the way magnesis did, only instead of highlighting metal objects in red, there was a simple reticle on the ground where he pointed the slate. Focused and frosty, he activated M11B-0, the result being perhaps the last thing he expected.

Black squares rained from the sky and converged into the spot that was specified by the rune. From there it got even stranger. The squares formed something. Legs, four of them, with a large body connected to them all. A snout, a tail, fur, Link couldn't believe his eyes. In the place of the reticle now stood a wolf. A _wolf_. More than that it was enormous, chest height to Link, without a doubt. Black fur with a white underside, the beast stood tall and proud, shaking itself clean as canines do. At first, ti seemed to survey its surroundings, taking in the new environment. Then, it spotted its summoner. For a moment, neither moved. Both were waiting for the other to do something. Two sets of dark blue eyes, locked in a staring contest, clearly looking for a chance to strike.

But neither struck, and the wolf became bored. It continued looking around until t saw the pot that Link had neglected. It charged at its inanimate target, moving for the kill. With a quick snap of its jaws and a quicker flick of its head, the pot lay shattered, its contents of ten arrows open for collecting. Link was half jealous, but he put those thoughts aside. Whoever this beast was, Link immediately thought of it as an ally the second it shattered that pot. Relaxing, he approached the wolf.

"Good dog?" he asked, trying to see if it really was friendly. The wolf gave him a look, more expressive than Link thought a wolf could be, as if saying "Son, don't patronize me." Link took a breath, and tried again.

"Are you a good wolf?" In response, the beast in question turned, sat, and nodded its head. He was making progress, and this wolf was intelligent.

Next question: "Are you male?"

A second nod, and a bark.

Link had one more question for the canine: "Are...are you here to help us?"

The wolf stared back into Link's eyes, it-his face making what Link hoped was a smile. The wolf turned his head to look at the statue of Hylia before standing and running out the entrance. Link walked back over to Mipha, as they exchanged confused glances back and forth between the door and each other. The wolf came back into view, just outside the temple, and barked at them, as if saying "You two coming, or what?"

Their guide seemed to be slightly rude, but it was the only lead they had to their next location. With a deep breath and one last look at the goddess Hylia, the pair left to follow the wolf who was their new ally.

* * *

The wolf led them to the west of the temple. There were traces of stairs going in this direction, but Link was unsure where they lead. He was unsure until he looked to their top. There was a large stone gateway between two large natural rock walls. As they got closer, Link humoured the thought that it seemed to go to a completely different land. The entirety of the plateau that he and Mipha had seen so far had green nature in abundance. The other side of that gate was different in every sense. Nothing was moving, not even the river. The world appeared as though it were standing still. There was nothing of any sort of colour through the gate either, everything was either white or some varient of grey. It truly looked like the land was dead.

They had reached the gate, the wolf looking back and forth between his two new friends. Link was wary of the new terrain, subconsciously tugging at the gloves of his doublet. A gust of wind brought frigid air forth from beyond the gate, chilling him thoroughly. Even in his warm clothing, Link felt the air bite at his face. Why had the wolf led them here? The next shrine was...on top of that mountain down into the white covered land. He was surprised that he didn't see it at first, but the shrine that he had thought would be their last stop was about a kilometer or two away. It seems this wolf really has come to help them.

The now triad of adventurers began to move for their third destination, the pin marked on the map. As they went, however, Link noticed that there was something amiss. They were one member short. Mipha was missing.

Turning around, Link saw her, still standing at the gate. Her hands were clutched in front of her, her entire frame shivering. Deeply concerned, Link ran back to the gate, the action made difficult by the snow that blanketed the ground. Eventually making it back, he found Mipha, shivering worse than she had in the shrine of resurrection.

"I...I'm s-s-sorry Link-k..." She managed to stutter through her shaking. "I c-can't come with you. It-t-t-t's-s-s too cold..."

It was then that he remembered something. Fish were cold-blooded. The Zora were not meant to handle such extreme climates, and not even warm clothing would help, as they wouldn't produce anybody heat to trap in the fabric. There was nothing Link could do but set her down near a fire so that she could warm up. He was sad to leave her behind, but there was no way she could handle the up coming area. She simply wasn't built for it.

"I won't take long, I'll be back as soon as I clear the last two shrines." Link promised, and the wolf woofed in agreement, with a glance that said "And I'll make sure of it."

"Very well." Mipha replied, thankful for their understanding. "I believe I saw a small pond somewhere nearby. I think I shall swim while waiting."

With one last goodbye, Link and the wolf went off, the third trial site in their sights.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note:_**

M11B-0 = amiibo, if you didn't know what I was going for.

Well, this one took me a while. Not traditional writers block in that "I couldn't think of the next part," no. More along the lines of "My friend lent me his copy of one of my all time favourite games (Super Paper Mario) and that's how I've been spending most of my free time" sort of thing.

But I digress. It's written, and I like it. Wouldn't you know it, I rewrote the part up to the temple twice. First time because I didn't like it, second because I forgot that's where you get better pants. Speaking of rewriting, I rewrote wolf-link's initial answer to the second question because I thought it would have been a bit too sarcastic. The first draft was a joke about adding to the list of things that regular Link didn't need to see in this life. Finally, a bit of a story. I restarted breath of the wild to have a reference point, and let me tell you, I have absolutely no idea how I got the stasis rune third in my first play through. It's clear that you're supposed to go to the cryonis trial before the stasis one.

I had that whole joke with the pot in mind since I started writing this thing. I was looking forward to it, so I hope it got a few laughs out of you guys.

Until next time, this is Sobakiin, signing off.

Don't take life too seriously.


	9. Chapter 9

So, this kid is his descendant? He certainly looks the part, despite how diluted the boy's blood was from his own. The unkempt blonde hair and striking blue eyes would be more than enough to show family resemblance if he wasn't covered from maw to tail in charcoal black. However, the wolf couldn't help but notice that this age's hero was a little on the scrawny side. When he went on his own adventure through the twilight, he knew that he had been better built for the task. Though, he supposed that not every hero has the fortune of being a ranch-hand for eight years before evil rose again. Simpler times, those were. Help keep the goats in line, lend a hand or three around the village, none of that hero business. Then again, had he just stayed in that tiny village, he would have never seen the true beauty of his land, and exactly what made it worth saving. Granted, there was plenty of things he wouldn't have wanted to see, but that was a small price to pay. He would fight an army of death-swords to see the view from the city in the sky again.

However, now was not the time to remember his own adventure. He was there to help his grandson. His very scrawny grandson. He was also kind of short now that he looked at him more closely. Did he have the wrong guy? No, that thing on his waist was proof enough, this was the hylian champion. It seemed his wife's sarcastic tendencies had rubbed off on him a small bit.

In any case, the shrine was in sight. It was still a ways to go, but he could still see it. Dusk had come and gone, the dark night sky completely contrasting the snow-covered landscape. Winds whistled past, carrying frost in its teeth with no warmth from the sun, but that was one of the few advantages of the wolf. His coat reduced the bite of the cold air to little more than a nibble, and that was in the most extreme conditions. This snowy hill was nothing compared to snowpeak. But yet, his companion shivered slightly with each step he took, even with that thick, quilted shirt. Young and inexperienced, that was the only explanation. He appeared no older than sixteen, seventeen at the absolute latest. The matter of his height came to mind again, but that was excusable due to his age. He smelled faintly of delicious food, but that might just be him hallucinating. He kept interesting company as well. He wasn't proud of leaving that zora girl behind, but if he had learnt anything besides mostly everything directly relevant on his own journey, it was that the Zora and ice do not mix. At least, not well.

The water rushed by as they ran along side the river. Though it was near-pitch dark, the stream shimmered with small bits of ice. It was beautiful as it was dangerous. There was no seamstress in Hyrule who could make a shirt that could resist something that cold. It's one thing to be cold, it's another entirely to be cold and wet at once. The problem here being that their destination was across this aptly named 'river of the dead', and the only bridge was destroyed. The wolf had no ideas. There was nothing he could do in this form, and nothing he brought with him could help in his other. They had arrived at an impasse. Or, so he thought. It seemed that, in addition to his most prominent features, his resourcefulness was hereditary. This kid was definitely his. A wave of his arms, and the metal doors of the nearby ruins were replacing the missing boards of the bridge. The wolf was impressed.

They reached the other side, the cold metal doing surprisingly little to the wolf's paw pads. Their next obstacle between them and the shrine was the rocky pillar which it sat upon. A path spiraled up the mound, making a trail for the pair of heroes. It was simple enough, but the wolf smelled danger. Bokoblins were encamped near the summit. Two-no, three of the bastards were behind the next few turns. The wolf smiled at the thought. Perhaps he could show off a bit.

* * *

The realization of what just happened hit Link nearly as hard as the tower. One moment, there was a wolf surrounded by bokoblins. The next, a black streak ran from wolf to bokoblin carcass, and from bokoblin carcass to the next. All three fell in defeat as the wolf stood over the last one. It hit suddenly that the wolf had dispatched of the monsters faster than Link could draw his sword. He was incredibly thankful that this wolf was on his side.

He thought he saw what could only be described as a cocky grin grow on the wolf's face as he stared in awe. Link steadied himself. This wolf was mocking him, he thought. The wolf barked, turning to continue up the path. The shrine was close.

"Yeah, I'm coming. Give me a moment, the snow makes it hard to walk."

It sat atop the second highest point of the plateau, shining the usual orange. Kah Namut shrine. It looked the same as both the previous shrines, and did the same things when Link interacted with it, but he knew that deep beneath it, under the ground, there was an entirely different trial waiting for him. Judging from the pattern made thus far, it would give the sheikah slate a new power for him to play with and solve puzzles.

* * *

 _In the name of the Goddess Hylia,  
Please accept this spirit orb._

It was odd, going through a shrine by himself. There was no other source of noise besides himself and maybe the tiny guardian scuttling around, but even after he took care of the spider-legged miniature menace, Link could still swear he could hear something. It was almost musical. His mind must have been playing tricks on him. He was completely alone in this shrine. Yes, entirely isolated. Alone. This trial was his own to pass, so he cleared it on his own. The monk Keh Namut disappearing to follow Oman Au and Ja Baij. He was now the only inhabitant. So where was that ambiant music coming from? Was the silence driving him mad? Just a few notes, every now and again, the same tune endlessly looping. It certainly drove home what this place was. He was trapped in a box and given tools. It was up to him to decide whether they were the right tools needed. The tool he was given this time? Cryonis, it was called. Point the slate at water, a pillar of unmelting ice was created. It defied several perceived laws of nature, but it worked nonetheless. It was useful as a quick lift, of as a way to prop something up. With spirit orb and rune acquired, he had no reason to stay. He could finally be rid of this infuriatingly calming music that his mind was creating. He could leave it until the next shrine, where it will surely return.

He had been in the trial longer than he had realized. It had been the dead of night when he entered, the stars and their brilliance on display for all to see. It was at least, if not exactly, the height of noon when he returned to the surface. The light stung his eyes slightly, them being more used to the soft blue of the shrine The wolf was nearby, curled up in a ball the way canines do. A quick glare was shot at the young hero.

 _Took you long enough._ The wolf conveyed as he stood and stretched out his forelimbs.

"Sorry, time really flies when you're alone with nothing but your thoughts for company."

 _Amen to that. Let's go, you've still got one left, eh?_

He couldn't believe it. He was so company deprived that he was actually having a conversation with a wolf. And the wolf was intelligent enough to actually have a good talk with. He was sure of it now, he was going insane.

At any rate, the wolf was right. Link wasn't sure exactly how he was able to convey that phrase with nothing but body language, but there was but a single shrine left. The old man's paraglider was nearly in his grasp. Before that, however, he would need a better vantage point to find the last trial. He looked to the south, and his prayers were answered: A mountain, the tallest point of the Great Plateau, Mt. Hylia the map labeled it. It was perfect. High enough to see the entire plateau, and according to the pin he placed on the map, it was obstructing his view of the shrine anyways.

"Then that's our next destination." Link decided.

The last question was that of transportation. They were high on a point, no clear fast way down. Nothing to help but some travelers weapons and a few shields.  
Wait...shields.  
A genius or idiotic idea formed in Links head. The snow was fresh, not packed at all, it would give no resistance to anything on it. All something would need to be able to slide down the hill...  
Was a smooth surface.

The wolf yelped in surprise as the young man jumped with his feet on his shield. His initial impression was correct. This idea was genius. Wind whipped through his hair, keeping it out of his face as he surfed down the slopes. The feeling was incredible. The adrenalin pumping, the ease of movement, the sheer _speed_ of it. He felt unstoppable. Nothing could stand in his...

 _CRACK_

Without _warning,_ his shield shattered, leaving him defenseless as he rolled down the rest of the hill, carried along by his own inertia. The snow was fresh, not packed at all, it gave no resistance to him rolling across it. His initial impression was correct. This idea was idiotic. Every bush that whipped past gave birth to a new cut in his flesh, each bump a new bruise. He feared he was going to die. He would have sooner jumped on the abbey's guardian if he had known he'd die to a fall down a hill. Mipha would be left waiting in the pond forever. The Calamity Ganon would break free and destroy everything in Hyrule. He had failed the kingdom, he had...

Landed on something very soft. And very angry as he soon found out from the growling.

"Am I dead?" Link asked meekly. The wolf had one simple response: To lick Link's face until he got off of him.

The wolf had somehow made it in front of him and cushioned his fall with his massive and fluffy body. As Link found out, his size was not simply for intimidation. There was nothing but lean muscle under all that fuzz.

"You don't make for a very soft landing." Link jokingly complained

 _That so? You ain't exactly pillow material y'self._

Again, somehow, the wolf made an entire sentence with nothing but body language. Link was dumbfounded, but currently too nauseous to think about it.

All things considered, Link decided that it might be best to take a rest before scaling Mt. Hylia, at least until the ground stopped being in the sky.

* * *

"oho ho, I see you have found a new friend."

Link couldn't believe his eyes. After quick shared meal between him and the wolf, he was feeling well enough to start the trek. He makes it to the top, and finds the quest-giving, paraglider-wielding, seemingly-capable-of-teleportation old man. Speak of the devil, it would seem.

"You thought well to climb this mountain. It's the highest point of the plateau, so you can definitely use it to scout out some shrines." The man said.

"By the way, how many have you found yet?"

"Three-and-a-half." Link replied. "I know where the last one is, what I don't know is how to get to it. That's why I came here, to find the pin I marked earlier."

"You're making good progress, my boy. You will no doubt leave this plateau soon."

Link flinched at the response. _My boy._ Those words played again in his mind. The man sounded like a proud father, as if he understood who Link was.

Link found the pin. It was just due east of the mountain. He said a quick goodbye to the old man, and he and the wolf were off again. Bokoblin camps lay in the way, and the bokolins lay in the snow in the wake of their formidable opponents. For every monster that leaped, two arrows found themselves lodged in their skull. For every monster that charged on the ground, vicious jaws wrapped and ripped around their necks. The teamwork of boy and wolf was amazing, the half dozen new bokoblin horns in Link's pack was proof enough. The two had found the desolate ledge that held Link's final trial. As always, it appeared no different from the last or last's predecessors. It was different in nothing but name. With a deep breath, his last for awhile that was the fresh, wild air, he stepped inside Owa Daim shrine.

* * *

 _In the name of the goddess, I present you with this trial._

It was as functionally the same as the rest. The rune of the trial was called Stasis. Fresh off the pedestal, the screen still a little wet, Link couldn't help but wonder what it could do. A push of a button and the world was outlined in yellow. The first thin he noticed was what was highlighted. A gear, being turned by some mechanism was turning a bridge by continuation. A second click, and he understood. The gear had stopped completely, freezing the bridge in place. Next obstacle, boulders were tumbling down the path. What was a hylian to do? Freeze one, stopping the rest. The trial was simple, but Link had to admit, it was rather enjoyable freezing things in place. He discovered that he could apply force to a frozen object. If he hit something enough while it was stopped, it would be sent flying when the time ran out.

No music this time. He was having to much fun with himself. Was that a good thing? He couldn't be sure. He was still alone, but the crash of the boulders kept things loud. He was almost disappointed when he reached the monk of the shrine. The trial went fast. It was certainly shorter than the others.

 _Please accept this spirit orb._

Accept it he did. He was still unsure of why he needed these, but the paraglider was close at hand. As the monk Owa Daim followed his precursors, Link turned to leave. He was now truly alone, on this desolate ledge of the plateau. No, not alone. He had a new fluffy companion. A slightly cynical wolf who was once again curled up, waiting for Link to exit the shrine.

"Miss me?" He joked to the wolf.

 _With each shot I took._

It was approaching dusk, about five-ish. He had cleared all four trials of the great plateau, all of their spirit orbs were in his possession. All he had left to do was reunite with Mipha, and they could finally leave for the rest of Hyrule. He would just need to talk to the old man...

A call from above startled the young man and his fluffy friend. Speak of the devil...

"Oho ho! Extraordinary! That means... it is finally time."

The serious tone struck Link as odd. Time for what, exactly?

"Link, it is finally time for me to tell you everything. But first..."

The man paused and turned. He pointed to something in the distance.

"Imagine an X on your map, with the four shrines as the end points. Find the spot where those lines intersect."

He turned to face the blonde hylian once again.

"Do you understand?" He asked, blue flames surrounding him. "Where two lines connecting the shrines would cross..."

The man was beginning to disappear into his flames. "There...I will...be waiting..."

He had completely vanished. Link was left with his wolf, staring where the man used to be. It was now clearer than ever. The old man was hiding something. Mipha had been right to be suspicious. As of now, though, all he could do was as he was told.

"Where the two lines meet..."

Link pulled out his map, tracing the lines with his finger. The four shrines wer oddly placed, but there was one spot of note that was located where the lines crossed.

"The temple of time."

It was oddly convenient, as Link had to go there anyways. The last question that remained was that of transportation. He searched around for what he could use, not entirely keen on climbing his way back down the cliffs. He caught sight of a large boulder sitting next to the shrine. The shrine where he gained stasis...

An idea occurred, it was either genius or idiotic.

* * *

 _ **Author's note:**_

and with that, I've nearly finished the prologue. This one took me a while, school is starting back up, so I might not be able to update this story with my usual one or two chapters per week, but I'll try my hardest not to make a hiatus.

If you're at all curious as to wolf link's form of talking, well, I figured that midna always knew what he wanted, so he would have to be quite skilled in body language. Also, I'm trying to give him a vaguely southern accent, on account that he was a farm boy for most of his life.

Anyway, this is sobakiin, signing off

Dont take life too seriously.


	10. Chapter 10

Mipha wasn't sure which event shocked her most. The boulder suddenly plunging into the pool she was in? Possibly. The heavily injured Link floating to the surface where the rock landed? Equally likely. The enormous smile he had on his face and the delusional mutterings that told her that he did this of his own accord? Should have been, but something told Mipha that he had done more reckless things in the past. At the moment, Mipha had to focus on bringing Link shore-side to heal him. The boulder disrupted the water's surface enough that entering the pool didn't effect hurt him much, but he was absolutely covered in scrapes and bruises, as well as having a hard time breathing, presumably due to a combined cause of flying via boulder and landing underwater. As a side effect, he wasn't completely conscious. His eyes were half lidded and he groan and muttered nearly incoherently. All together, though, it was nothing life threatening since she pulled him out of the water. However, had she not been present...That was not something that she wanted to think about.

The first thing Mipha focused on was fixing Link's breathing. Healing the rest of him would no help much if he suffocated before she was finished. She checked to see if there was anything lodged in his throat, and then took whatever water had ended up in his lungs. A few coughs and sputters later, Link was conscious and breathing fine. He took a minute or two to get reacquainted with air, and then he noticed the red-finned arms keeping him steady.

"Oh, hi Mipha. Fancy meeting you here." he managed to choke out between coughs.

"Shush now, you need to rest a while so I can fix you." She spoke softly, trying to make him relax. It was apparently all the recommendation he needed, as he laid back on the ground to let the zora girl work her magic.

"Holy Hylia, what did you do? There are more bruises than I can count!"

"I fell." He responded quickly, as if he didn't want to go into details, so Mipha left it at that.

The injuries were minor, healing them all taking little over fifteen minutes. Mipha stood with her patient, helping him to his feet. When she was confident in his ability to stand, she asked how exactly Link had arrived to the little pool. The explanation was definitely what shocked her the most. When he had completed the final shrine, he decided to use stasis, one of the runes that he had acquired, to launch a boulder towards the temple of time. With him riding on the side. What was he thinking? if he fell, he could have-no, WOULD have died! A kingdom was at stake, for Goddesses' sake! She was about to relay all of this to him, but a sharp bark beat her to it. That wolf who had followed Link into the snowy area had returned.

"Yeah, you were right, it was a horrible idea, but it got me here faster than walking didn't it?"

Just when she thought she was out of dumbfounded looks to give Link.

"You can understand him?" she asked, pointing at the wolf.

"In a way. He's rather expressive for a wolf."

It was a remark that she could agree with, as the wolf looked just as cross with Link as she thought she did.

"Oh, before I forget," Link started, changing the subject, "I should tell you that I met the old man again. He was waiting for me when I finished my final trial."

This caught Mipha's interest, but she was not surprised. That fellow had a strange way of getting around the plateau, not just with his glider. It seemed that he was everywhere that he needed to be at once, and even where he wasn't needed. She could never remember to ask while he was around, whenever the topic returned to her, the man to ask had left.

"He said to meet him once more in the temple of time, he said he would explain everything, and then he...I'm not sure my words can even describe it. He just...vanished."

That caught her off guard. "Vanished? How do you mean?"

"Right before my eyes, he just faded away. Like the monks at the end of the trials."

This was concerning. He was suspicious before, but now...

Just who was this old man? From the sound of it, if they returned to the temple of time, they would find out.

* * *

The first thing that caught Link's attention was that the pots had returned. The second thing was what stopped him from wasting a few arrows on them. The statue of Hylia, the only thing left intact inside of the temple, was glowing. A strange, mosaic light poured out of it, surrounding the goddess' likeness in a fitting heavenly shine. It was stunning, beautiful even. It was certainly not there before.

He walked towards it, as if by a force pulling on him. Memories that weren't there told him that he could trust her.

Her? But this was just a statue of Hylia, not the genuine article.

Nevertheless, he continued. He walked forward until he was directly at the foot of the sculpture. By instinct alone, he began to pray. He knew not what he was saying, nor for what reason the prayer was sent, but against his expectation, he received an answer.

 _You, who have conquered the shrines and claimed their spirit orbs._

 _I can offer you great power._

 _It appears you have claimed four spirit orbs._

 _In exchange for those four, I will amplify your being. So tell me what it is that you desire: Vigor, or Vitality?_

He considered the choice. Would he rather run farther? Or have the freedom to make more mistakes in a battle? Either of his options were tempting. He thought still. He could climb higher if he increased his stamina, but a stiff pain in his shoulder finalized his choice.

At his word, a glittering red object drifted down from above, a heart container, as his instincts called it. It was that same feeling, experiences that were not his own. The appearance was ever changing, but the function was constant. He took it into his hands, and the heart shaped object disappeared as his body grew stronger. It was a small difference, but he felt it there. Little by little, this could help him become the warrior that he was needed to be.

 _Go, and bring peace to Hyrule..._

The Goddess fell as silent as before, unfeeling and motionless, the way one would expect a statue to be. Once again, the Temple of Time was left without life.

The silence, however, did not last. A yell from above was caught by the ears of the two inhabitants. The old man, always a step ahead, was up on the roof.

"The blessing of the Goddess has made you that much more resilient, I see..."

He started simply, despite the flaming wisps dancing by his legs.

"Here I am..." he shouted, "Get up here-quickly!"

There was an urgency in his voice, a characteristic that was previously unseen in the laid back elder. It caught Link off guard, while Mipha seemed more shocked by His appearance.

The moon was high in the sky when the two reached the roof. Despite the state of the temple, there was a remarkably intact ladder. The old man was standing in the highest room of the building: the top of the central tower. Those blue flames danced and darted around his person, the man himself not even noticing their presence. His eyes stayed focused on the odd duo walking towards him.

He laughed as they entered. The hearty noise echoed through the small chamber.

"Well done there, young ones!" His congratulations were well deserved, if slightly overdue, but they were shortly lived. His tone of voice turned serious with his next words.

"Now then... The time has come to show you who I truly am. I was King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule. I was...The last leader of Hyrule. A kingdom which no longer exists."

Link had no time to react. The blue flames surrounding him grew in size and intensity, his body no longer visible in the sudden flare. Link turned his eyes, shielding himself with his hand. When the light faded, the patchwork hermit of the Great Plateau was gone. In his place stood a figure clad in robes befitting of the title he admitted to. Blue, gold and white cloth covered his body, a golden crown sitting atop his head. His eyes held the most commanding gaze that they could have possibly held, a look none would expect from a grizzled elder who spent his days in a poor example of a cabin. Link knew the old man was not telling his entire story, but this...

Surprised would not even begin to describe how he felt. Shocked, astonished, confused, no one word could be used. However, his highness left no moment for questions.

"The Great Calamity was merciless... It devastated everything in its path, lo, a century ago. It was then...that my life was taken away from me. And since that time, here I have remained, in spirit form."

The mention of the calamity brought rage to Link's mind. One century ago was when he had supposedly began his sleep in the shrine. The fact that he had been tasked with fighting it now was to convient to be coincidental.

"I did not think it wise to overwhelm you while your memory was still fragile. So rather than that, I thought it best to assume a temporary form. Forgive me. But I think you are now ready. Ready to hear what happened 100 years ago."

Link braced himself for the king's story. He still had questions, but now was not the time. He glanced at Mipha, the sleek-bodied woman standing resolute to his explanation. She was no doubt sharing in Link's shock, but now was not the time.

* * *

The King told the story of Hyrule, and its history as he was now a part of it. He told of the repeated threat of an evil beast be the name of Ganon, a dark beast bent on the kingdom's annihilation. A prophecy foretold the calamity that befell the land, a legend that spoke of their salvation lying deep underground. They searched and found what the prophecy spoke of: enormous contraptions to be piloted by champions, addressed from then on as the four Devine Beasts. Along with those, armies of unfeeling, autonomous soldiers called guardians were revived to fight against the dark entity. Four champions from among the tribes of Hyrule were united, standing under the command of the princess, blessed by the Golden Three with the powers of light. By her side, her appointed knight, a Hylian warrior chosen by the sword that sealed the darkness. They were strong, Ganon appeared to have no chance of victory, but then, something that no one could have expected befell the land. Through some means, Ganon had taken control of the four Devine Beasts, their champions loosing their lives. The guardians were repurposed by the beast, bent under the will of the very thing they were designed to destroy. In a valiant stand to defend the princess, the knight was gravely injured. Hope seemed lost as the castle town was reduced to little but ash. However, the princess had survived the attack, and moved to fight Ganon alone. There the two stayed, even today, they continue to fight.

His story finished, King Rhoam turned to his listeners.

"That princess was my own daughter. My dear Zelda. The courageous knight who protected her until his own end... was none other than you, Link. You were rushed to the shrine of resurrection. Here you now stand revitalized, 100 years later. However, that leads me to the single thing that has confused me since you awakened."

He raised his hand, pointing to Mipha.

"You are Lady Mipha, chosen champion of the Zora tribe. Pilot of one of the Devine Beasts."

Mipha gasped. "But... but you said that all the champions had been slain!"

The King nodded. "Indeed I did. In fact, it was the very last update I had received for the situation before a mutinous guardian had breached the throne room. Your remains had all been discarded by whomever stole control from you. All wounds were beyond fatal, you had all died long before you were found. I know not how you can to the shrine, nor how it raised the dead."

Mipha appeared devastated. Her eyes were filled with confusion. The news was concerning to Link as well. The original plan had apparently been for him to face the beast alone. Except, without Mipha, he would have never lived long enough to even leave the plateau. Time and again she had saved him with her skills, the burden lessened by a companion. They had already died fighting the calamity, but now they were the only chance left.

The room fell silent, heavy questions with none who could answer them. Which made it all the more startling when a small tune began emanating from Mipha's pouch. It was her own sheikah slate, an object that gained a surprised reaction from the king. " _Receiving call"_ the slate read, a button appearing on the screen. With much hesitation, Mipha pressed it, and a voice filled the silent air.

 _"Hello. I suppose this would be the first time you have heard my voice."_

In a word, the voice was deep. Its sound boomed out as the voice spoke, clearly masculin. However, Link thought it familiar. He had heard it before, recently, but when?

 _"Well then, I should properly introduce myself. You might know me as the behemoth with no eyes."_

The reveal hit Link suddenly, unable to stop a question from shooting out. "The person that's been leaving us messages this whole time?"

King Rhoam was shocked when Link said this. It seems that Mipha was not the only thing that was unknown to him.

 _"The very same. Terribly sorry I made you wait this long, but I assume his highness has already filled you in on the details of your past."_

"What of it?" the king asked.

 _"I figured that none of you would know how Mipha had appeared in the shrine, so I thought I'd go ahead and tell you once they were all up to speed. Well, the simple answer is that I brought her there."_

This new information brought more questions than it had answered. The source of all the unforeseen occurrences had been this man. He was an unknown variable, there was no other way to describe it. It infuriated Link.

"What could you possibly have to gain from this?" he asked sternly.

 _"I don't intend to gain anything. As I've said, I'm your benefactor."_

"That isn't an answer."

The voice sighed. _"I don't expect you to understand quite yet, but you have my word that I am on your side. Think about it: Now you have someone to talk to. A partner through the worst of battles you may face. I assure you that I am here to help."_

His logic was sound. Link could find no argument to counter with.

 _"With that, I'm afraid I must bid you adieu. There is much that you still must do. I leave that explanation to you, your highness."_

The voice ended, the mini slate returning to a blank image. Silence once again filled the room.

King Rhoam was the first to break it. "This is...concerning. I knew not of this no-eyed behemoth. However, I believe his words that he means to help. Also, his words are true that there is still much to be said. Princess Zelda has been restraining Ganon for the past hundred years. Her powers will soon be exhausted. Once that happens, Ganon will freely regenerate himself and nothing will stop him from consuming our land. Considering that I could not save my own kingdom, nor stay in control of the plan to save it, I have no right to ask this of you two..."

The king's face contorted with frustration.

"But I am powerless here...You must save her...my daughter. And do whatever it takes to annihilate Ganon."

"Somehow, Ganon has maintained control over all four Divine Beasts, as well as the guardians that swarm around Hyrule Castle. I believe it would be quite reckless for you to head directly to the castle at this point. I suggest...that you make your way east, out to one of the villages in the wilderness."

He turned to a large hole in the wall of the room, pointing to a mountain that was relatively close to the plateau.

"Follow the road out to Kakariko Village. There you will find the elder, Impa. She will tell you more about the path that lies ahead. Consult your map for its precise location. Make your way past the twin summits of the Dueling Peaks. From there, follow the road as it proceeds north..."

Up until this point, their quest had been vague. They had acquired an idea on what it was they had to do, but this was the first time it had been explicitly stated. On the surface, it seemed simple enough, but it would be far from easy.

A look of realization suddenly dawned on the King's face.

"It just now occurred to me...I only have one paraglider."

It was unfortunate news indeed. The information stabbed Link as if it were a pike. It was unlikely that it would be able to support two people. He and Mipha wouldn't be able to leave together. At least, that is what he thought. Mipha morsel of luck that she was happy to share. She had been told in a message from their so-called benefactor that spoke of the mini-slate's ability to use the sheikah slate's location as a travel gate. As soon as Link landed, she would arrive straight away.

The King sighed in relief. "That is reassuring. Now you both should be able to safely descend the plateau. And...I believe that is it. I've told you everything I can..."

The flaming wisps that surrounded the king began to envelop him. His task was complete, he had no reason to remain in this realm. His form began to disappear, his voice leaving a final message for the champions.

"Link...Mipha...You must save... Hyrule."

The King has left this world. The room fell silent once again.

* * *

 _ **Author's note:**_

I had a bit more planned for this chapter, but it was getting kind of long. Well, that just gives me more to work with for the next one.

Anyway, this is Sobakiin, signing off.

Don't take life too seriously.


	11. Chapter 11

Before setting off, the champions took a day to prepare. Link's pouch supplies hadn't quite recovered from his little cooking frenzy over in the birch woods, and weapons were running low. The wolf was an absolute Goddess-send for hunting. No boar or deer was safe from Link's new fuzzy friend. Mipha, as always, was in a league of her own when it came to fishing. It was honestly slightly terrifying to have such powerful predators travelling with him, but he took solace in the fact that he was their friend. Well, he hoped so anyways. He hasn't known the wolf for very long. He had just appeared in the temple of time. He seemed friendly, if a little stern with directions. The occasional look was shot from him, almost seeming sarcastic. It was odd; Link had no idea that wolves had any concept of sarcasm.

The sun was some in between of dusk and noon by the time he had considered his pack properly restocked. Mushrooms, apples, bugs, lizards, even Bokoblin remains, anything that could fit, really, and even somethings that shouldn't, yet they did. He had yet to test his new-found Paraglider, though Mipha was more than happy to demonstrate her mini-slate's direct transport function. She had finished fishing, and her sudden appearance shocked Link enough that his arrow missed his target by three meters at least. It was impossible to get an accurate assumption, as his target ran the moment it heard Link's startled cry. This had earned one of the wolf's sarcastic side-glances.

The triade had made it to the west edge of the plateau. The dueling peaks were visible in the distance, a tower exactly similar to the one here on the plateau coming just before it. It was a strange sight from a distance, as if it were once a regular mountain, but someone sliced it straight down the middle because it was is their way. Past that mountain was the village of Kakariko, the next point of interest for their kingdom saving journey. He walked forward, the space between him and a sudden sheer drop getting smaller...

Smaller...

There wasn't any left. He was staring directly down the drop.

It was certainly a long way down.

He took a deep breath, took a few steps back, and dashed for the edge. So many instincts screamed against it, so many ways this could go wrong swirled in his head. If he messed it up somehow, if the Paraglider couldn't support his weight, if his arms gave out or his hands became too sweaty to maintain a proper grip...

 _NO!_ He thought to himself. _This will work, the king and kingdom need it to!_

Before he could think of any other reasons to stop, he leaped. There was nothing below him safe a few kilometers of air.

The words " _Oh, shit_ " were the last thing to go through his mind before he fully entered the freefall.

As his body moved faster, everything slowed down. He could hear each beat of his heart, make out the leaves of every tree below him, he could feel the adrenalin pumping through him. His brain was moving as fast as he was, making everything else seem slow. Nothing held him up, he felt entirely weightless. The ground was approaching, not as fast as he felt it should be, but approaching nonetheless. By reflex, he scrambled for the thing that he had worked so hard to acquire for this very situation. For a very brief, very terrifying moment, he couldn't find it. Relief unlike he had ever known poured through him when he located the wooden construct. He raised it above him as he had seen the disguised king do so many times. His arms suddenly cried in protest as he felt something catch. His fall had been slowed. His mind returned from its high octane processing episode. Reality snapped back to him. There was a soft pull upwards, like the Paraglider wanted to go higher, but its cargo was far too heavy. It protested, but the only way it could go was down. Slowly. Much to the relief of Link.

The ground came quickly, Link's descent far from graceful. His arms had given out three meters from landing, leaving his now exhausted body to brace for impact. He had landed fine, the pain in his legs paling in comparison to his arms. He crawled his way to the wall of the plateau, propping himself up to rest. His breathing was laboured, his hands were nearly too slick to gain a proper grip on anything, but he somehow made it. The entire flight had probably taken less than a minute, but it felt like he had been pseudo-floating for hours. With nothing better to do, he pulled out a mushroom skewer to chew on until any feeling besides pain returned to his limbs.

Within minutes, Mipha had transported to his side, the wolf following suit using the same technique he had used to arrive in the temple. Mipha was quick to ask if Link was injured, but Link had felt fine after his snack. This was it. All three of the odd company had left the plateau. Now, they were properly in the kingdom they needed to save. Though, Link had to admit, it did not feel much different.

He was still only armed with travellers weapons and crude bokoblin clubs. The best weapon that Mipha had was a spear made for fending off wild animals that link had found in one of he trials. He stood with several groans, beginning the long walk to the mountain that had been sliced in two. They were making progress, certainly, but there was still much to do before they could even consider going to Hyrule Castle. What was more, there were new terrors awaiting them at the bottom of the cliff.

A towering mass of muddy red was visible through the trees, patrolling the remains of what once might have been a soldiers outpost. It was a long ways off, but the mere fact that they could see it from such a distance spoke volumes of its volume. The outpost itself was in as much ruin as the abbey from the plateau. The skeletons of rooms lay scattered about with weapons long too rusted to be of any use scattered about, some lay shattered at the feet of guardian corpses. In the middle of the section the trio found themselves in, there was a stone fountain. So much damage from but a hundred years neglect, the guardians must have been quite a reckoning force to jumpstart it. Everything was made of solid stone, but appeared to have crumbled as if it were made of salt.

The red goliath was becoming much clearer as they got closer. It bore a striking resemblance to the red Bokoblins that they had fought so many times on the plateau, but there were several minute differences. This creature's face was longer, its snout more defined. Its horn was longer, and curved twice. Of course, above all, it was at least three times the height of a bokoblin.

 _"A Moblin..."_ Link thought.

Link weighed his options. Could he fight it? Its size was intimidating, but they had the advantage numbers. It was armed with what looked like a segment of a tree trunk, but its actual arms were rather thin. No matter how large it was, swinging something so large would be awkward at least. The odds seemed to be in their favour, as they would also have the element of surprise.

Or so they thought. It came closer, its nose twitching the whole way. It stopped. It sniffed. It grunted angrily. It knew they were there. It could smell them.

Link couldn't waste any time. He rolled out from his cover and struck the beast's legs. Mipha followed his lead, using her weapons reach to jab into its gut. Links first impression was correct, its weapon was so large that its attacks were terribly telegraphed whenever it went for a swing. Every move it made, Link dodged, every step it took was cut short by a new wound in its midsection. It tried to retreat, but a black and white streak leapt at it, teeth intent for its head. With a wolf's jaws clamped around its neck, an expert pike-woman stabbing all its soft parts, and its legs flesh being shredded by a trained knight, the Moblin had no chance. Within minutes, it fell defeated, its enormous body making a echoing thud when it hit the ground. As it was with every monster, it left no corpse when it die. The demon's skin was turned purple-black, dispersing into the wind, leaving behind only the usable pieces. It was a delicious moment of victory for the group of heroes as Link moved to collect their prize.

Unfortunately, the moment didn't last. The beast hadn't been patrolling alone, and the noise of it falling had alerted its friend. Completely caught off guard, the small group were now the receivers of the moblin's savage attacks. Slow as they were, they were carried by immense strength. Telltale cracks were heard when the club found the wolf, Mipha was caught of guard when the monster carried its momentum into a spin. Enraged, Link charged under. Surely, he thought, the monster's weapon was to heavy to use so close. In a way, he was correct. what knocked him down wasn't the new Moblin's club, but a swift kick of its massive leg into Link's chest. He was thrown back by the strike's force, tumbling back into the range of the club. So many things had gone wrong. The monster raised the weapon for another strike, one that Link wouldn't be able to avoid. A high pitched whistle marked it.

Wait...

How does a club whistle?

As if to answer the question, the moblin itself grunted in pain. More whistles filled the air, a tuneless song played on it. Link look closer. Arrow after arrow flew into the moblin, the continuous force actually pushing it over. Like its predecessor, it collapsed to the ground, sixteen shafts lodged in its skin, another twelve broken out from its fall. With that finished, Link learned a new lesson about surviving in this land: never celebrate until there is nothing that could stop you.

Link stood, still hurting but wanting to learn who saved him this time. Nearly dying only to have someone else save him, it was becoming a sort of habit, one that he hoped he would be rid of soon. He first looked at his two companions. He took a large sigh of relief when he saw Mipha, uninjured, tending to the wolf's broken leg. He continued his survey, looking around for their savior, until his eyes spotted the only other soul present, and the only one who had a bow in his hand.

He was young. Not young as to say a dashing young man, but young as in barely older than ten. He stood shorter than the wolf when he was on his side. He wore a green tunic-like shirt, and had a head covered with bright blonde hair that was as unkempt as Link's.

"Hello!" the boy said cheerfully as he stowed away his bow. "You must be Link."

The man in question, still shocked, could only muster "Uh...yes, I am." as a reply.

"Yay!" the boy celebrated childishly "You certainly took your time to get here."

Link was shocked. Not only at the age, rather, the lack of thereof, of the one who saved them, but he also somehow knew they would arrive.

"How exactly do you know who I am?" Link asked.

"Oh, that's easy! A really tall man with no eyes told me to wait here for you."

With that line, Link's shock multiplied. Their so called benefactor has enlisted the help of a child? What's more, he apparently trusted this child with his appearance more than those who he was the benefactor of. He had questions, but no words to voice them. He stood awestruck at the child, and the fact of the boy's skill with a bow struck soon after.

Mipha, caring as she was, had her own questions for him.

"Do your parents know you're here?" she asked.

"Wouldn't matter much if they did, they died a while ago."

Mipha gasped in shock, and Link could see why. The boy's smile never once died in that sentence. More questions bubbled into Link's head, one after the other. It wasn't long before one leaked out.

"What exactly did this man tell you to do?"

The boy response was simple, and Link hoped it was honest.

"He said 'Soon, a blonde Hylian and a red Zora will come through here. Help them out, would you?' So I said that I would. I mean, I haven't got anything better to do."

It was certainly plausible. Link didn't know much about their benefactor, but this child was somehow an archer prodigy. It didn't feel right to even consider leaving a child on his own in this deadly wilderness. He looked over to Mipha, who nodded her confirmation.

"Alright, I suppose you'll have to come with us. What's your name?"

The boy paused for a second, as if panicking.

"Uh...um...Navi...?" There was much hesitation in his voice, as if he had just thought of the name on the spot. It was almost as if 'Navi' didn't think he would get this far. That action alone gained suspicion from Link, but the boy seemed iron-clad in his explanations. He imagined it would be hard to glean anything from asking the green clothed boy anything else.

With a new member in their little group, the four of them continued on.

* * *

There were precisely three things that he couldn't believe in that moment.

The first was that he was still shocked with how easily flute boy, no, sorry, the late hero of time had let him borrow his body.

Actually, thinking about it, it was actually rather easy to believe considering what he had needed it for.

Very well, there were two things that he couldn't believe in that moment.

The first was how quickly the new hero had accepted his act. Even though it was the best one he could come up with, he had prepared many more explanations for all the questions they would have had. And yet, three measly questions in, and they let him come with them. It was such a shock, it took him a second to reach to their last question.

"What's your name?"

In theory, a simple question with a simple answer, but he had spent so long preparing an explanation for almost literally every other question they could have asked that he hadn't been prepared to answer an introduction so fast. He had probably lost some trust with how much he had stuttered when giving his name, but they didn't question that either.

The second thing was the wolf. That wolf was probably the last person he had expected to see. Of course, he was going to go back and visit again sometime, see how things went with his shadow, make sure he fixed that horrid drinking problem he gained, but he had never expected to see him when he was helping his descendant. The sheer fact that the wolf was present made him curious.

So curious in fact, he let the two walk on ahead while he stayed back with the wolf. He made sure they were out of listening range, and turned to the four-legged hero.

"You know, I'll admit, you're probably the last person I expected to meet here."

The wolf turned to him with a strange look in his eyes.

 _I assume you have the wrong wolf._

The counter went back up to three.

"Hero of twilight, when did you become a telepath?"

The man-turned-wolf turned his head to face him, shock apparent in the beast's striking blue eyes. What was happening was obvious, he didn't recognize him.

"Oh, come now, don't tell me you've already forgotten me?" he spoke in his true voice.

Realization dawned on the hero of twilight's face as he recognized the god's voice.

 _So, you're this 'behemoth with no eyes' that I've been hearing so much about?_

He returned to the child's voice.

"You've caught me red handed."

The warrior found it nice to actually have someone to talk to. Well, 'talk' to. Speaking of which...

"So back to the telepathy..."

The old hero made the closest thing to a shrug he could muster in the form.

 _Spend long enough 'round the woman who's queen and top sorceress of the Twilight Realm...Well, I s'pose you pick up a few things._

The counter returned to two things. The hero's explanation made sense, and it was backed by how weak his telepathy actually was. At that point, he could probably only put impressions into others heads.

Their jovial conversation didn't last for very long, though.

There was a reverberating rumble going across the ground. There was a cry a surprise in the distance:

"What the Farore?!"

The counter returned to three things. Link, the current one, had just discovered what a Stone Talus was.

* * *

 ** _Author's note:_**

Whew! Finally done! sorry for the wait, boys (and girls, I suppose). The combined factors of school, my birthday, and Monster Hunter Stories have kept my hands mostly full.

Sorry, that game is very addicting.

But I finished it! I procrastinated an English assignment to finish this, so I put extra care into it! I suppose it's true what they say, "There is no limit to what a teenager can get done when he's supposed to be doing something else." This note has gotten very enthusiastic, hasn't it?

Anyway, I hope you guys and gals enjoy this chapter. A little firework of pride goes off in my heart whenever I get a new notification of a story follower and the like. It's a strange feeling, being proud of something. It's kind of warm, which is appreciated up here in the frigid wasteland they call Canada.

Well, until next time, this is Sobakiin signing off.

And, as always, Don't take life too seriously.


	12. Chapter 12

Mipha needed to process exactly what it was she was seeing. There was a rock, a boulder even. It was embedded in the ground. It was large, yes, but otherwise unremarkable.

But then the ground shook.

Then the rock started to move.

The _rock_ started to _move._

It stood. It searched. It literally _threw_ a punch at the two champions. Link might have yelled something, she couldn't tell.

There was a sudden impact in her side. Link had tackled her as to move her from the hurdling fist's trajectory. Where they once stood now held a crater. Link threw something back, something spherical and glowing blue.

The rune bomb blasted of the creature's legs (if you could even call it a creature). It stumbled and fell, revealing a glittering chunk sticking out of it's 'body'. But it did not stay down. The rocks reassembled, reforming the legs, and the boulder stood once more, pulling a replacement fist from the earth. What could they do? Mipha's mind fast running, trying to think of something, _anything_ that she could do to help. Another bomb flew, the stone giant falling again. The chunk revealed itself once more, and Mipha came to a solution. Her spear had been damaged during the moblin fights, it likely wouldn't last much longer, but something told her what to do. Like she had done it a thousand times, she drew it, and like she had done it a thousand times more, she threw it directly at the protrusion on the boulder's back. The sharpened point of her soldier's spear wedged itself into the lump's base, cracking it off the rest before the spear itself broke as well.

As the black chunk fell, broken off by the impact of a bomb arrow, courtesy of Link, the giant began to crumble. They had somehow defeated a boulder, and Mipha was exhausted. Not from work, the entire battle hadn't lasted ten minutes, but her body had been tense from adrenaline the whole way. She and Link were both breathing hard. The attack was sudden and entirely unexpected. Both were tired from the surprise call to arms.

"Nice work." A childish voice called from behind them. The boy who had half-heartedly called himself Navi was beginning to catch up, along with the wolf. With his hands behind his head and a smile on his face, the boy continued speaking.

"Ah, right, neither of you would have heard of them...That was a Stone Talus. They started appearing after Ganon had returned. Interesting monsters, they are, as they're actually just small ore deposits. The problem is, they can take control of any rocks they attach themselves to, forming a sort of body, like the one you just disassembled."

Stone Talus. The name unfamiliar to Mipha, as was the boy's explanation of it. How could a monster be a rock? How could a rock control other rocks?

"Tough little buggers, but a good source of gems. Look."

The boy pointed towards where the talus once stood, calling attention to the piles surrounding it. There was amber, opal, even a small piece of sapphire. It was impressive, but Mipha turned back her eyes to look at the group's new company. This Navi was definitely knowledgeable of the current state of Hyrule. Combined with his prodigal archery skills, Mipha was glad he was helping them, but she couldn't help but be suspicious whenever their 'benefactor' was involved. There was a good chance that this boy knew more than he let on, but that would have gone without saying. Navi did not let on much at all. As of now, the only thing she knew about him was that he's been an orphan for a while. This had sparked some sympathy from her when he had mentioned it, however that was quickly overshadowed by confusion when the boy had seemingly forgotten his own name. Though, to be fair, she had forgotten her own name not even a week ago. It seems that, no matter where they go, there will always be someone hiding something from them. First the old hermit who turned out to be a king, now this child. Perhaps even the wolf knows something. But for the moment, she would have to digress. At any rate, Link had wasted no time collecting the talus remains, and Mipha had to wonder where he found the inventory space for everything she's seen him pick up.

The distance to the dueling peaks had closed. The small party of two ancient heroes, a teleporting animal, and a mysterious preadolescent had made it. Mipha stared up to the summit, marveling at the mountain that had been sliced in half. A river ran through the split, not deep enough for a proper swim, but not quite shallow enough to stand in. For the petite, sleek body of the Zora's champion, it was a perfect place to relax. The raging current would have made progress impossible for any other race, but Mipha was apparently a definite exception as the other three struggled to keep pace with her. If asked, she wouldn't be able to describe what it was like, ripping through the flowing waters. In her mind she tried and failed to think of a comparison. Walking couldn't hold a candle. The ease of movement, the precision needed to turn even the slightest. To top all of it, the air rushing past whenever she would leap out, only to be replaced by foamy bubbles when she returned to her habitat. She never felt so proud to have fins.

More of the trial shrines had come and gone on the way to and through the mountain, as well as a sheikah tower. The added colour to the map made following the king's instructions much easier.

"What do you suppose could have caused this?" Link asked, gesturing around at the sheer cliffs on either side of the river.

"I'm not sure. Perhaps the river had something to do with it?" Mipha said as she swam up to the riverbank. Swimming had it's perks, but it was rather difficult to speak through the water.

"Well, since you asked..." Navi started, popping into the conversation, "How the abridged version of the legend goes is that a god was mad that there was a mountain in his way. I'm not sure I believe it, myself, but that's the legend."

"Is that so? Well, we have a ways to go yet, what's the legend unaltered?" Mipha asked.

"Funny you should mention that, I actually don't know the whole story." he replied with a laugh. "Sorry about that."

It did not last for very long, but the sound of voices was a nice change from the gush and gurgle and occasional splash of the river. Soon, the river resumed it's song, drowning every other noise with its singing. Fish would jump every now and again, and the odd arrow shot from Navi or Link would get the company a future meal. The river itself roared and purred, as if the rushing water were alive, never taking a break from it's marathon. Mipha doubted even their wolf could match speed with the stream. It was a surreal feeling when she realized that she had been a part of this beast not five minutes ago. It was quite a tranquil tune, the rushing water, the splashing fish, the screeching...

...screeching?

* * *

It had happened too suddenly for Link to even react to it at first. Two green masses leaped from the river's current, and as Link turned to face them, one had already been shot down by three arrows lodged in its eye. Snapped to attention, Link turned to the only person present presumably capable of such a feat, and was given more shock than the monster attack.

Navi, the constantly smiling, not-even-twelve-year-old, was aiming for the next shot. However, the speed of the boy's draw was not what shocked Link. It was the boy's eyes. To this point, he had been nothing but cheerful, a shining example of purity to any outside onlooker, but now, his bow drawn, a second arrow, already rushing to the head of the remaining attacker, Link saw no trace of the cheerful Navi he had come to know. The boy's eyes were widened, hatred and contempt filling them as he watched the monster fall. A disgusted sneer flashed across the young archer's face as the body collided with the ground. He muttered something, and lowered his weapon, reapplying his cheerful mask. The whole spectacle hadn't taken five seconds, but Link had seen more anger in the boy's face than any person should be capable of. The look in his eyes was one of an old, jaded, disillusioned warrior, someone who had seen the world at the worst of times, and has lived long enough to know that the best of times never last. No one younger than eighty should be able to make that glare, and yet, this boy, this _child,_ was throwing it at random attackers. There was more to this boy than met the eye, but Link was now hesitant to ask what that might be. The look in Navi's eyes was terrifying, the memory of it made the Hero's blood shiver in fright. Perhaps some things are best left unsaid.

Navi sighed to give the illusion of effort as he stowed his marksmen's tool.

"Lizalfos. You might remember something about them. Their speed makes them seem unpredictable, but there's only a few things they can actually do."

With that, he resumed his stride, shining his smile as if nothing had happened, and Link was happy to humour him. It was definitely something to ask, but it was something to ask later, when he was confident the boy wouldn't turn to him with the same face. For now, he would forget, but that sight would be burned in the back of his head for months.

* * *

The scenery blurred past as the horse's hooves thundered across the ground. Link didn't know where he had learned to ride horses, nor why everyone in the dueling peaks stable where twins, but the large animal had been an amazing acquisition. It had taken some patience, stealth, and Hylia knows how many fireflies and bokoblin teeth, but the animal's speed far exceeded how fast their group was on foot. However, his riding companion might not be so enthusiastic. Pressed close to Link's back, Mipha held on for her life. It seemed that the Zora did not frequent horse races. Every now and again, the horse would do something to protest its passengers, slowing suddenly or bucking a bit. It was annoying at first, but any sudden movement would make a small, cute noise come from behind him, so Link supposed it wasn't entirely unbearable. The wolf kept pace easily, his massive stamina making up for any sudden burst of speed the horse put on. Link wasn't sure how Navi planned to cover how much ground they had covered, but he had remained at the stables, promising to catch up.

The horse, who Link had named Eruk for no reason in particular, had carried them far along the path to Kakariko. If what King Rhoam and the man at the stables said were true, it shouldn't much longer until they reached the village. The path carried on, past a bridge and around some bends. One particularly sharp turn made Mipha squeeze the driver a touch too hard, so Link proposed that they walk the rest of the way. After all, it couldn't be far now.

Thankful to return to solid ground, Mipha quickly dismounted and breathed a sigh of relief. Thankful to be able to breathe again, the Hylian did the same.

"I'm sorry if I went too fast, and I understand if you were scared."

"N-No, no...it was...it was fine." Mipha assured. "I...I'm sorry if I hu-if I held on too tight."

It reminded Link of when she had inadvertently embraced him when entering their first shrine trial. She turned away as she apologized, clearly trying to keep the red in her face as minimal as possible. Link didn't know why he found this as funny as he did, or why it made him think the red zora to be even more adorable, but he turned away so he did not start blushing himself. Apologies exchanged, the group went on their way.

A large, wooden gate stood at the end of the road, an emblem that was all too reminiscent of the same bared on every shrine crowned the arch. The map told true, as did both sources of advice. Through the dueling peaks, then follow the path directly to the north. The sun had nearly set, but they had arrived at Kakariko village.

A familiar face greeted them at the gate.

"What took you three so long?" Navi asked through the meat skewer in his mouth.

Mipha stared and stuttered in confusion, but Link had half-expected something like this. He had never passed them on the trail, and they had left him behind when they acquired a horse, yet Link somehow knew that this boy was capable of strange things. Thinking on it though, a piscine woman who could heal others with only her hands and an intelligent wolf capable of instantly transporting himself wherever he desires don't make for the most regular company.

The quartet walked through the gateway, shadows growing tall as the light lowered.

Link stood resolute. The first step of their journey, their quest to save the kingdom of Hyrule, had been completed.

* * *

 _ **Author's note:**_

Sorry for the wait, and sorry it's shorter than most, but it takes a whole evening to write a chapter, and life had been busy this past weekend. The next chapter should be up closer to my regular update time.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

This is Sobakiin, signing off.

Don't take life too seriously.


	13. Chapter 13

It smelled different than he remembered. The smoldering scent of the bomb shop's gunpowder had left, no longer present to assault his nose. The air held no presence of the molten cores of Death Mountain. The air itself was not so dry that it his lungs lost their moisture. It smelled different, that's not to say it was worse.

There was much more green than the last time he had been, as well. Grass covered the ground, what he assumed to be cherry trees bloomed in their pink glory. There were even crops, small plots of land fenced of for growing carrots and... holy Hylia, were those pumpkins?

A wave of nostalgia washed over the previous hero. They were a long call from Ordon's crops, much smaller and smelled of iron, but they were enough to remind him of his days growing up in that small village of Ordonna. He wondered if, since it wasn't Hyrule proper, Ordon stood even to this far off day that he found himself in. Which was clearly a long ways from his own time. He figured it would take near a million years for Kakariko to become this. Or rather, 'had taken'.

Night had fallen over the small village, hardly a soul stirring safe the man running about training his legs, and the woman under the tree who the two current heroes had spoken too. It seemed they were expecting his grandson, not so much his delicious smelling company.

 _No, don't think_ _that. You're not actually a wolf, hylians don't eat Zoras._

They were told to meet with the village elder, Impa, some blood relation to the now-ancient Impaz, he was sure. Of course, he had always found it difficult to tell the age of the shadow folk. All of the sheikah tribe had white hair from birth, making it impossible to guess their age unless they had any wrinkles. Even then, they aged exceptionally well, as he had discovered with Impaz, who qualified to be called ancient even in her own time.

The village was built in a way that the further in you went, the lower the altitude was. The elder's house took advantage of this by sitting atop a large line of stairs, towering over everything else on the low level it technically sat on. The house itself was surrounded by cliffs and small waterfalls. It was large, but not daunting. The smooth design of the building was almost inviting. An invitation that the old hero would have to decline. He had come to help, but that was it. Anything major, the boy would need to do himself.

The wolf left, curling himself up underneath a tree, hoping to find some rest. Hopes that were soon dashed when he gained some company.

"Mind if I join you?" the warrior child asked, still eating his meat skewer.

 _Hmph. Fine, I didn't want to sleep anyways._ He replied with an exaggerated yawn.

 _"_ You two go on then, it's your quest, after all."

He hadn't even noticed that the boy and fish - _Zora, she's a Zora_ \- had been looking at him, like they had expected the other two to come with them. They were clearly apprehensive to advance, though they were both exceptional at hiding their feelings. Better at hiding some feelings more than others, as the little scene they had put on at the gates told. Of course, they were still just children. He would have never entered that sheet of darkness way back then of his own will, even the urgency of the situation wasn't enough to stop his hesitation. A quick bark and a gesture was all he could do to try and push them on. Whether or not that was the deciding factor, he would probably never know. The not-quite-a-couple turned and marched up the stairs, towards the shadow that housed their past.

Or, at least, that's what he'd been told. He hadn't actually been present for their conversation with...what was his name? King Room? No, Rhoam, that's what it was. The late king had apparently been disguised as that old man that they had run into back on the plateau, and had explained a fair bit to them about their quest before sending them here. He hadn't argued, partly because he didn't really have any way to argue, partly that he had no real idea of where they were supposed to be going.

He was sent here on request of the goddesses themselves, the message carried through the light realm's princess. Only a bare-minimum of information was given to him at the beginning, and he had certainly never expected to see the man currently sitting beside him in this unclear mission of his.

 _"_ The feeling is mutual, then."

It seems that he had been thinking aloud, so to speak.

 _Don't get the wrong idea, it's nice seeing you again. Just, never thought it would be here that I did, y'know?_

"Your appearance surprised me just as much. Thanks for the explanation, though, I think I can guess from there."

 _What does that mean?_

"Ah..." the boy shrugged, "It's a long story."

 _Longer wait, if the tone of that elder is anything to go off of._ He raised his ears to the ambiant noise, a distinctly sheikah accent, speaking in a story telling tone, was coming from the house ahead.

"Let's just say the powers that be aren't usually too fond of my interference. I guess they sent you here to make sure that I don't scramble history too badly."

The wolf had a laugh at that.

 _If that's the case, then I'm too late. That girl, Mipha, she's supposed to be dead. Your doing?_

He shrugged again. "You've caught me."

 _If I had to guess, similar situation that I had found myself in._

"Much worse, I'm afraid."

With that, their little catch up stopped. The old hero was understandably unkeen on hearing about how his grandson had suffered. Now, all there was to do was either nap or wait, and he was sure which he would rather do.

* * *

The footsteps grew closer outside the door. It had certainly taken the boy long enough to fix himself. Closer. He was about halfway up the stairs. Closer. Wait... were there two of them? No, it must just be her old ears playing trying to make a fool of her. No one else would be up at this hour, no one that the guards would let past anyways, and Paya had already gone to bed. It could only be the fallen knight.

Yet, still the sound is uneven and fast. Is sprinting up the stairs? No, he would have arrived at the top by now if he was. Perhaps her ears weren't tricking her, but even then, who could it be with the boy? Some mercenary he had hired at a stable? No, he was far too honourable a knight to accept help from such shady sources.

The knight and his unknown accomplice were at the door. The elder lowered her head, hiding her face with the brim of her hat.

The doors blew open, a cool gust of night air rushed into the room.

"...So, you're finally awake." she said

She looked up to see the young hero standing proud as he did all those years ago.

"I am..." she started, but her train of thought was cut short. She could feel her eyes widening when she saw who it was that had climbed the stairs with him. It was no mercenary.

Lady Mipha, chosen champion and born princess of the Zora's domain, the very same who died that hundred years ago in her Divine beast when Ganon had taken control of it, stood next to the fallen knight, as alive as he was. She was at a loss for words, and they weren't saying anything. Then, she noticed their eyes.

Empty. No recognition, no sense of familiarity, the proud flame that once burned in Link had been dulled to an ember. It was then that she remembered something her sister had said. Amnesia. It would be a side effect of using the shrine of resurrection. But, to her knowledge, Link had been the only one placed in it, and yet, there the ancient princess stood, completely unaware that she was.

It was cruel irony. She had heard tell of what had been between the two, but then the great calamity struck. The two had been forever separated, but fate had given them a second chance. However, by some tragic design, they wake up in their second chance completely oblivious to their past.

The elder sighed.

"Do either of you remember me?"

Neither knight nor champion responded. This could take some time.

"It has been a while, I'll try to remind you. To start, my name is Impa."

Nothing. They looked at her as if she were a stranger to them. This could take more time then she thought.

"So, you have lost your memories." she tried not to sound surprised.

"Well, perhaps that is a blessing in disguise, at the moment." she half lied. It certainly is tragic that they have forgotten each other, but there were several things that are perhaps better left forgotten.

"For now, come closer. There is much to tell."

* * *

 ** _Author's note:_**

I am SOOOOO sorry for how short this one is. I usually put off writing until the weekend, but this weekend had some nasty weather. I wanted to publish a chapter, but I needed to do it fast in case the power went out. I'll try to spread writing out through the week from now on so this doesn't happen again.

I am really, terribly sorry about this, I promise that the next one will be at least 3,000 words.

But, until then, this is Sobakiin, signing off.


	14. Chapter 14

A hundred years ago, the kingdom of Hyrule was destroyed.

It was a simple start, but packed a heavy blow when he remembered what the king had told him. It wasn't meant to just simply fall, Link was meant to protect it.

And yet, here he stood, one hundred years later, the land crumbling beneath his feet because he had not been up to the task.

"After you fell, Princess Zelda's final wish was to place you in a sacred slumber. And then...all alone... alone she left to face Ganon."

It shouldn't have been that way, he felt. Had he not fallen, perhaps the land wouldn't have fallen to the state that it had.

"Before she nobly left to- dearest Link are you alright? You seem...ah, I believe I understand. Rest assured, you stood valiantly to your second-to-last-breath against the army of Guardians. I'm certain a large number of the ones you saw decaying on the way here were disabled by you. No one could have predicted the beast's foul tricks, even then, there was unlikely anything that could be done. Do not blame yourself for something that you cannot even remember."

The sheikah elder turned.

"That goes for you as well, my lady Mipha."

He had nearly forgotten. He wasn't alone.

The young Hylian followed the elder's gaze. The red Zora had been staring at the floor for the entire story, short as it had been so far. How could he have forgotten something so comforting? In failure and redemption, he wasn't alone.

"Ahem, where was I... ah, yes. Before she had left to face Ganon, the princess had entrusted me with a message to share with you."

The elder sighed. "I have waited 100 years to deliver these words to you. However..."

Link tensed.

"To hear these words, you must be prepared to risk your life, just as the princess had as she left to face the beast. Are you sure that you are prepared to do that?"

It had taken no time at all to acquire his response. He looked to his companion, who offered a determined nod."

Link turned back to Impa, a slight smirk donned on his face.

"Just what do you suppose I've been doing since I woke up?"

The old sheikah's eyes widened in surprise. She held a look of complete shock on her face four five seconds... ten seconds... thirty... a minute... then she began laughing. It was slight and coarse, but she carried it for a fresh ten seconds.

"I must say, it is quite odd to finally hear your voice, but that seems about the sole thing that has changed. Not memory to your names, and you charge forward, free of doubt."

Hear his voice? Had he been mute in the past? His throat stung at the memory of the shape his voice had been when he had first woken up.

Her laughing came to a stop. "Very well. Since you have both forgotten everything, I suppose I should recount the history that you have slept through."

* * *

"The history of the royal family is also the history of Calamity Ganon, a primal evil that has endured throughout the ages. This evil has been turned back time and time again, by a warrior wielding the soul of a hero, and a princess who carries the blood of the Goddess."

The story had started similarly to the king's, but Impa differed from what they had already heard by telling of the Calamity's first appearance.

It had been 10, 000 years since the first time the malice had wrought its rage upon the land. Hyrule had become a prosperous land, rich in technological advancements. Anticipating the evil beings return, armies of unliving soldiers who lacked any thoughts or feelings were built, each with but one sole directive: destroy the demons summoned by the calamity. From there, the four Divine Beasts were constructed, each piloted by the most skilled and revered of their respective tribe. The combined strength of the warrior, the princess, and the dozens of armies worth of guardians worked in tandem, sealing Ganon away upon his eventual return.

And the rest, they already knew. Ganon returned a second time, prepared for the armies, commandeering their helm from his opponents and turning them on their masters. Not even the Divine Beasts were safe from his charisma.

"...and so, the princess had left you these words: ..."

" 'Free the Divine Beasts,' that is what she said."

The statement widened Link's eyes. It made sense. Ganon was still trapped in the castle by princess Zelda, he would not be able to recapture them.

"The four Divine Beasts, each controlled by one of the four champions, who were defeated by Ganon. Vah Rudania, which was controlled by Daruk, boss of the Gorons. Vah Medoh, controlled by Revali, the greatest archer of the Rito. Vah Nabooris, commanded by Urbosa, chief of the Gerudo. And finally..."

Impa shifted her gaze.

"Vah Ruta, controlled by Mipha, born princess of the Zora tribe."

The room fell deathly silent as the two processed what Impa had just said.

"P-p...Princess?!" Mipha silently exclaimed. "I...I'm royalty?!"

Link heard the aged sheikah mutter a quiet sigh. "So, that is what happened."

"I apologize for raising that to light from nowhere, but I felt it important that you know. Unfortunately, this gives me many questions, ones that I doubt either of you have answers to. Judging from your shared memory loss, I assume that means that she was placed under the very same sleep that you were, dear Link. I can only think that a third party is involved, but I haven't any idea as to how they would have been able to breach the shrine. Although, I might be more surprised at how powerful that machine is. To be able to fix such..."

Impa paused when she saw Mipha. The Zora girl was still in shock from learning of her heritage, understandably so.

"...perhaps I should not share just how severe it was. At any rate, we could stand for hours, thinking of answers to a question that has none, but I'm afraid time is of the essence. As I have already said, your mission is to free the Divine Beasts. Search for a way to infiltrate them, and purge them of whatever sinister force stole their command from the champions. I'm afraid I cannot be more specific, but the elders of the four tribes should have more information. Follow your sheikah slate, and you should find them with little trouble."

The elder paused once again.

"I apologize for giving you such a daunting task, even with your empty minds, but you are perhaps the only ones who can accomplish it. However, on the subject of your memories, I perhaps know someone who might be of aid in recovering them."

This caught Link's attention. The mention of memory retrieval called Mipha from her disbelief as well.

"That sheikah slate... there is much that it still cannot do. Go east, to Hateno village. There, you should find a sheikah woman named Purah. She should be able to help return it to its full strength."

With one last sigh, Impa spoke once more: "With that, I have said my place. There is nothing more that I can tell you at this time."

"It's been a huge help. Thank you." Link said, bowing his head to the elder.

"Oho, it is quite alright. Go now, and may the goddess smile upon you."

They finally had a goal. Free the Divine Beasts. Link stood, glad to know where he was going, and, though he hadn't had any idea of who she was, he was sure it was nice to see Impa again.

* * *

The conversation had gone on for longer than they had thought. It was past morning when the two champions left the elder's abode. Though, it made little difference, for both boy and wolf were under the same tree that they left them. Link shared the new information, but Navi refused to pay attention.

"I'm just here to help you fight. When it comes to this whole kingdom saving business, I leave that all to you."

Link tried and again to relay their quest, but all he could convey was that their next destination was Hateno because someone there could help.

"Oh! That reminds me, a painter man walked by earlier, asking around about a fairy fountain that's around somewhere. I didn't hear where, but I did find a likely spot." He said as he stood. "Right over there, behind that glowy thing I've seen you go in a few times."

Link followed the boy's point, and as he said, there was a shrine atop one of the cliffs that walled around the village. He was glad that there was one so close, it would make the trip back from Hateno much easier. Behind the shrine, Link could make out tree tops, a slight forest stretched out behind it. That was the place of the boy's interest, then

Up the hill they went, sheikah children running past or stopping to stare at the giant predator walking about. They looked on in awe, and the wolf seemed happy for the attention, playfully barking whenever they tried to pet him. One child attempted to play fetch, but the hope for the game was quickly dashed in favour of a new one. The wolf's ludicrous reflexes and jump height made for a spectacle far more impressive than retrieving a stick. Anything the children could make airborne, the wolf would make it not. Anything, except for the cucco. The moment Link's eyes landed on it, the same adrenaline pulse of combat flowed through his system, every nerve told him to get back. The wolf followed, as did Navi, the three of them standing a fair distance away with their weapons drawn. Link hadn't the slightest idea as to why this feather clad fowl frightened him so, but he knew that he did not trust it. Something in its eyes gleamed with wickedness, fiendish enough that he knew not to challenge it. He backed away, slowly gaining distance from the animal, but it stood still, unaware that three predators were aiming at its neck. Unaware, or unworried. Link calmed himself. It clearly wasn't agressive, so there was no need to worry for the moment. He sheathed his sword, and turned to find a rather concerned look coming from Mipha. Now tinged with embarrassment, he quickly started back up the hill.

* * *

How long has it been? A decade? A century? More? It didn't matter, she was too tired to even try to think about. Oh, how sad a state she was in, her power exhausted, her abilities lost...

Why had this happened to her? She had once been so proud, people from across the kingdom would come to her for any reason one could think of. They would ask her for her blessing, for advice, for her hand, for her heart, they would offer gifts in hopes of improving their luck, or simply to talk to someone who would listen. It was splendid, but oh, did not last! The visits shortened, became fewer and farther, and eventually stopped completely. Not a single sheikah from the village had come for her blessings, no passersby would stop and give an offering to guard their travels...

The world had forgotten about her, isolated her, locked her in the place that she was gracious enough to call her home, and left her to drown in her sorrow as she faded away. She was now alone, deafened by the silence. Not even the youngling fairies that congregated in front of her once beautiful fountain would offer her the time of day. She was so weak now, she doubted they could even feel her presence.

She was alone. Completely alone. Such was fate, she supposed. She did not agree at all, but there was nothing that could be done. Nothing to do but wait...

Wait...

Wait, is that...?

Could it be? Goddesses above, could it be? Truly? Oh, praise Hylia it could! There was someone coming! After so long, after so long locked in silence, she could hear them! Someone was walking through the wood! Please, oh goddesses, please come closer! Someone...

No... not one...

There was... two... three! There were three people coming! They were close, oh so close, she could feel them!

Three people, all were Hylians, all were young...

...and all were male.

She grinned in her prison. This was a divine mercy, surely! No young, hot-blooded man could stand idly by as a beautiful maiden suffered, certainly not in the presence of his peers. This was perfect, they would be her salvation. They came closer, and she could better sense their spirits. The first one she felt was short, quite short, but deceptively so. What his body refused to show resonated through his soul, that being his age. Contrary to body, his mind was old, the eldest of the three she could tell, but how old she could not. Oh, spite her weakened state.

The second oldest spoke more to his self. He stood tall, his body toned and built like the finest warrior to ever walk the earth. He was old, but not terribly so. From what she could tell, he had barely set foot into his prime. A finer specimen than either of his peers, he certainly stood out to her. His mind was sharp and perceptive, but there were traces of emotions that she didn't expect. Greif, guilt, sadness, regret, she had seen this in enough cases to know that this young man had once had his heart shattered. A slight darkness emanated from his core, a bestial rage that would have torn the heavens asunder had it not been quelled. It spared some pity in her, perhaps she could offer him her...

Dear Hylia, what was that smell?! The second man, his form reeked of wild dogs and forest waste! Her pity had been lost with her appetite, and her attention turned to the third.

Youngest of the three, so young that he qualified as young man by the slimmest of margins. His size was not much to the average eye, but hers were no commoner's. Beneath his modest appearance lay a body fit for a general. Strong but quick, light but powerful, proud yet quiet, he could preform at worst average in near any situation, and at best, he could decide a war. Inside his heart beat a soul so bright and righteous, its presence could blind any corruption that challenged it. There was but one thing out of place in this boy: his mind. His spirit was strong as iron, his presence was humble, but his mind echoed blankly, unfilled with any childhood to speak of, nearly emptied of personality safe a oxymoronic combination of recklessness and caution. This boy was strange, but at the moment, he was her only hope.

They came closer, ever so closer, tantalisingly close, and she heard one talk.

"Is this it?" the voice questioned.

"Maybe. I only heard that it was somewhere around the village. For all I know, this isn't even the right spot." replied another.

The time was nigh, her saviour had arrived.

"Please..." she called out, trying to sound as helpless as possible.

"Please...I beg of you...please help me..."

They stood fast, their questions answered. She kept her squeals of joy at bay, and continued.

"This place was once a beautiful spring, but as time passed... less people came with their offerings, and my power waned...

I am the great fairy Cotera... please, oh sweet boy, all I ask is but one hundred rupees...and I shall be restored. I will gran you my services in return so please..."

She out stretched her hand, reaching out to him. She heard something, a rustling of cloth, the distinct ting of the Hylian currency. She could nearly taste them, but the second voice spoke up.

"Are you sure? Didn't you say that's all you have?"

"They aren't exactly hard to find, and besides that, I can't simply leave someone if they ask me for help."

The boy was more than honourable, he was merciful, generous even. She felt something collide with her palm, power already returning to her. She pulled the offering close, the power coursing through her in a way that she had long since forgotten. It was fantastic, she let herself get immersed in the flow, unable to stop the sounds of her pleasure as she lost herself in the near euphoric return of her strength. Her power was restored, her fountain was in bloom. It was sensational, phenomenal, amazing. She was elated, it had returned. She burst out from under the water's surface, and looked down at her liberator.

"Thank you, boy. As promised, my power is at your beckon call. Whenever you should desire, I shall improve your clothing. It is the very least I can do."

She reached out with her mind, scouring the land to feel every soul that lived in it. Much to her disappointment, her sisters had met her same fate. Oh, how this world could be cruel. She returned to herself, and stood back to look at the three Hylians...

Two Hylians...

What? Why were there only two? She had sensed three, and could still sense three, but saw only two Hylians...

...and a wolf.

No... not a wolf...

That was the missing Hylian. The beast held the soul of a man, his appearance a mere disguise. The fairy had never known such sorcery, but now all were accounted for. One young Hylian, one older Hylian, one short Hylian, and one Zora girl.

Wait, what was that? Surely, her senses had not been so weak when she was powerless, where had this Zora come from?

The small band had turned to leave, their business in the woods finished. She reached her mind once more, but felt nothing from the fourth guest. How was this possible? She had felt over the entire kingdom of Hyrule, she knew where the Zora were, she knew that they had souls, and she knew what they felt like, so why could she not sense this one? She hid slightly behind the young Hylian, perhaps she was timid to the point that she had no presence? No, she had felt shyness before this was something different. Something... something that might have an explanation in the hands of someone present. One with a larger soul than any other present. A soul larger than even her own.

"You there, small one!" she called out.

"Hm?" the man in question turned, his face that of a child. Such conflict in soul and body, only he could hold such an answer.

"Could you stay a while to talk? I haven't had company for ages."

The others turned with slight concern in their faces, but he was quick to calm them.

"It's alright, I'll be fine. Besides, it's like I've said, this is your adventure. I'll be waiting here for you to get back from Hateno."

Apprehensive, they followed his directions after a short farewell.

He was now completely alone, and Cotera could acquire some answers.

* * *

"I don't suppose you kept me so you could teach me how to use the spin-attack?"

"You know perfectly well my reason." replied the towering Faye.

He laughed childishly, "I'm sure I don't ave any idea what you're talking about."

"Do not feign innocence, I can tell what you are."

Defeated, he breathed a sigh. "Well, it was worth an attempt. You can't blame a man for trying."

He knew that this would happen eventually. They would encounter something that recognized him, or he would accidentally let his nature show, perhaps he would need his full strength to fend off something that the hero could not as he was. What he didn't expect was that it would happen so soon.

"So, what seems to be the problem, oh great fairy Cotera?"

He wasn't sure if he had accidently sounded sarcastic, but the glorified shrine maiden had become irritated.

"You play a dangerous game, young deity. Even you must know the consequences of a god interfering with mortal affairs."

All traces of the gracious, loving guardian that had addressed Link was gone. Her warning was sincere, but she did not care if he heeded it.

"What do you think is so funny?"

He hadn't noticed. He had started chuckling.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just... you're the first person who's ever called my young."

She was getting mad. He couldn't tell why, he was telling the truth.

"How can you be so carefree? This matter is most serious! You play with the hands of fate, and she is not one to ignore those who disrupt her work."

"Really? Then tell me something, did you agree with 'fate' when you were trapped in your little pond here?" It came out harsher then he had meant it to, but it did its job. The woman was shocked by his rebuttal, and she was fast to create a counter.

"No, but I accepted her design. She can be a little cruel, but she makes the best choices." was her response. She delivered it calmly, as if she were afraid of offending someone.

That pushed him. It caused a spark and lit an outburst to fast for him to stop it.

"A _little_ cruel?" he muttered through gritted teeth. "She is perhaps the cruelest _thing_ I have ever met."

She had heard him, it was too late to stop.

"Too many times have I seen her ruin the lives of men. Too many times have I seen those men regret everything they have done because of her 'making the best choices.' Too many times have I heard them pray in hope that the divine may reverse it. Too many times have I seen those people lose hope and accept her design."

He had said too much.

"But I'm sure that you weren't asking for my life's story."

"I...I suppose not..." he had left her speechless. 'Though, that does answer another of my questions."

"And which question would that be?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"That is a different story. One that I am not keen on sharing. But simply know this: That boy who saved you, he bares the spirit of the hero."

He heard the Faye gasp.

"In a different time, he had lost everything that he had ever held close to him. He had saved the realm, but found nothing but suffering. I have come to change that."

"So, you intervene as a kindness? You think that what you have done is honourable?"

He prepared himself for the same lecture that he had heard time and again before. 'You have no right' and 'This is not a matter that you should change.' Same song, different singer. But the song never played. It was a simple question.

"Are you aware of what you have done?"

She wasn't opposed to his actions, and how could she be? She understood his reasoning. Countless people have probably come to her, asking her for her assistance in a time of need, and she could only try and lessen it, unable to fix it entirely. He was righting a wrong, but there was a detail that he had missed in doing so. One that he was ashamed of.

"Yes, I know about it. An...unforeseen variable, but I will correct my mistake."

"Correct it? My dear young deity, that poor girl has no soul!"

* * *

 ** _Author's note:_**

3, 000 words, or it's free, just as promised. I could have had this up by Wednesday, but the document glitched and I lost hours of writing. Again, I'm really sorry that last one was so short, but I'll try and be better about it by writing gradually across the week instead of waiting until Sunday and taking a good two-and-a-half hours out of my weekend. It should save me time, and it might actually get the chapters out faster.

If I can change gears right quick, it honestly blows my mind how popular this story became. I'm not sure if you read in the summary, but this is actually my first time doing something like this. It really makes me happy seeing all you guys, gals, and assorted other inhabitants of the internet enjoying something that I wrote, and am writing. From the bottom of my heart, wherever it is, let me thank all of you for your support.

By the way, sorry, if Cotera was a bit on the dramatic side. We're studying Shakespeare in English, and I was...inspired, to put it gently, to try and write a soliloquy.

But, until next time, this is Sobakiin, signing off.

Don't take life too seriously.


	15. Chapter 15

The rain had struck from nowhere. By itself, it would be a mere annoyance to the once knight, but the darkened skies and the blurry curtain that came with it would make navigating a challenge. As it was, the road was their only guide; they had past the edge of the Dueling Peak's map long ago. Along with the clouds, cold winds blew in from the north. Combined with how wet his clothing had become, the temperature rivaled Mount Hylia. Eruk the horse was none too fond of the weather's change either, and he was plenty eager to show it as his galop slowed to a trot. Link hadn't much idea of how far yet Hateno was, but he would much rather they avoid travelling should the rain turn to storm. It was a shame, Mipha had just begun getting used to riding. However, there lied the final argument against continuing: Mipha. As at home as she was in the water, the force of the winds combined with the lack of sun had made her body cold. Link could just barely feel her shivering through his doublet.

"I think we should wait for the storm to pass." he suggested.

"N-no, it's only a little rain. B-besides, I'm sure that we're n-nearly there." Mipha bluffed in response.

Link sighed, "I'm afraid it wasn't a question. This 'little rain' is about to become a freezing thunder storm, and you're shivering enough as it is."

With a bit more convincing, Mipha relented her defense. Not that she wanted to, she made clear, but she was too cold to think of any more arguments. Without a stable in sight, they had to make do with a small cave dug in the side of a hill. It wasn't much, but a small campfire would warm it up quickly.

At least, it would if there were any dry wood. The rain was relentless, any bundle Link could scrape together outside was soaked to its center with no hope of flammability. The cave was left cold, but the silver lining was that it was dry.

Sadly, simply dry wasn't enough to calm Mipha's quivering. The alcove blocked the wind and rain, but the air remained frigid.

"I'm sorry, there isn't more I can do" Link apologized.

"It's-s-s fine, I as-s-sure you. I'm jus-s-st a little c-cold." she replied, gracious a companion as ever. It was clear that she did not want to be an inconvenience, but her body spoke out of line against any lies she told. In the cave, they sat across from one another, safe but cold, silent to everything but the downpour and Mipha's stuttering breaths. Much to Link's fear those breaths were becoming less frequent. He noticed her body beginning to relax. She was about to fall under. Link thought frantically, trying to come up with a solution, any possible solution to help keep Mipha warm. He hadn't enough rupees to buy any more clothes in Kakariko, and he wouldn't be able to make a quick trip back as they hadn't passed a shrine of any sort for a good while now. Any chance of fire was entirely limited by the rain. There truly was nothing he could do.

No, there was something.

He shuffled his way over to the Zora. She was confused at first, and protested in her delirium when she realized what he was doing, but when he sat down next to her and pulled her close to him, she could not deny herself the warmth. She tried pulling herself closer, blushing all the while, attempting to access as much of Link's body heat as she could. Link shared her embarrassment, he hadn't been this close to her since he had first woken up. It was then that he remembered something that Impa had said.

 _Lady Mipha, born princess of Zora's domain._

That line had finally sunk in to his mind. He looked down in disbelief. A princess. He was currently holding a princess in his arms. He had carried a princess down a tower on his back. A princess had looked after him when he had injured himself being reckless. He had teased a princess for embracing him while riding horse back with him. He had road horseback with a princess...

That same princess made an soft noise of contentment as she took in more heat. He looked down once again. She had pressed herself up to him, embracing him as if she were a child sleeping with a plush toy. Her skin was still cold to the touch, but she had stopped shivering. He sighed with relief. As red as it had made his face, at least his plan worked. He felt a sort of comfort being so close to her. From what though, he could not tell.

Her stuttering noises had been replaced with deep breaths. She had fallen asleep. It was quite an adorable sight, if he could even call a princess adorable. Her body fell relaxed, the young Hylian apparently making for an excellent pillow. He laughed silently.

Holy Hylia, the looks he would get if someone were to see him. Fortunately, there wasn't a soul around. Even the wolf had left, perhaps to give the two some privacy. The thought lit the boy's face again. Surely, the wolf couldn't have thought that they would...

His thoughts were halted as he took another look at the slumbering Zora. He noticed something that would have been impossible to see were he not so close to her. A thin, white line ran up her back and branched out between her shoulders. It was too jagged and irregular to be any form of natural mark. Careful not to disturb her, he gently traced it with his finger. The flesh of the line was curved in, slightly, and the line turned sharply to the side when it reached the bottom of her midsection. What was this line, he wondered, and what did it...

oh.

Oh.

Oh, dear Holy Hylia.

Nausea engulfed him as he realized it. This white mark, this line from her shoulder to her hip...

It was a scar. More than likely was it the wound that resulted in her needing to be resurrected. He had assumed that they would have had to have been severe, but this...

He could see why Impa was reluctant to share the shape her remains were in. The image produced by the scarring was disgusting. Ever so gently, he lifted her. Though much less visible, her front shared the pattern.

She had been impaled. More than that, whatever the offending item was then ripped down in a curve. It was as disturbing as it was fitting.

She had been gutted like a fish.

* * *

"I noticed it when they woke up."

The young immortal was making his case.

"Not too long after, I realized what had happened. I'm sure you noticed, that boy who freed you is missing his past."

Cotera nodded her confirmation. She had indeed thought it strange, but the stranger company had distracted her.

"I'm sure that you have also heard of the shrine of resurrection located on the Great Plateau."

Again, she nodded, finding the connection between his two questions. She had always thought the shrine's existence unnatural, but it was far out of her territory and jurisdiction.

"So the boy was revived through its powers, and his memories were stolen because of its cost. That answers one of my questions, but how does that relate to the girl?" the great fairy asked.

"It is relevant because I placed the girl in with him, hence why some would find the connection that they both are missing their memories. However," he raised a finger, "there was a large difference between the two. He was still alive by some definition, but the girl had already passed."

It took a moment for Cotera to process what he said. She was awestruck, so much so that she wished she misunderstood.

"...but...if what you say is true, then-"

"Yes, the girl is little more than a walking corpse."

She had understood perfectly. The situation was beyond serious.

"That is also why she has forgotten her own past. It was by no fault of her slumber, she had lost herself the moment she fell."

The dead were walking among the daylight, a feat that was by no means natural, and yet the deity kept his deadpan demeanor. However, the fairy could read the spirits of the living. She looked deep, searching inside him for the reason he was so indifferent. It was a mangled mess, the mind of a man, even more so that of an immortal. Combined, it was near unnavigable. But she pressed on. There must be something that could tell her. She searched through, scouring his skills, his likes, his accomplishments...

She stopped at his age.

She was correct that she was the eldest of that group of four. He was older than anyone in Hyrule. Herself included. She saw now why he had found it so funny that she had called him young. He has been alive for eons, and he held power that could rival even Hylia, but the strangest thing was how unfamiliar he was. It was a presence different to any being of divinity she has had the pleasure of meeting. It was pure ferocity buried in anger, kept in check by unwavering devotion to keeping the peace.

"You do know I can hear you rummaging around in here?"

Cotera gasped as she rapidly withdrew herself. "I...I apologize, my lord-"

"Now, now, I'll be having none of that. My title disappeared along with my name from history. 'Young deity' is fine."

That line shocked her. His name had disappeared? What in Hylia's...or rather, HIS name did that mean?

He seemed to regret saying that. "...but, that's neither here, nor there. Pray tell, what were you looking for, exactly?"

The great fairy composed herself. "How can you be so calm, young one? You have defied the most honoured law of this world."

"Well, so has every incarnation of the demon king," he answered, voice rich with sarcasm, "... but I understand your concern."

He turned to face her."I believe I have already said that it was nothing more than an unforeseen development. Rest assured, grand sprite, I can correct this mistake."

He was irritating, no doubt, but his words held weight. Every sentence he said, he meant. This left one question in the fairies mind.

"So you say, but her spirit has already departed. Do tell, how will a child without a name pull someone from beyond?" She attempted to match his wit, a move that did not go unnoticed as a small smirk grew on the boy's...man's...elder's... on his face.

"That is were you are wrong, my dear. She had been slain, yes, but I know for fact that her soul has not yet left this world. No, in its place of separation, it remains, trapped by the vile beast which did the deed. In that same place, it will be freed by the one who carried her body with him. Then and there, vessel and life shall reunite!" His response told him to have a flair for the dramatic, but he was making light of the situation yet again. There was nothing for the fay to do but laugh with him at his impromptu performance.

"It is rare that an immortal has such a generous humour to him. Most are disillusioned by the incessant evil that constantly rises to plague the surface of this world."

"Those who live as long as I have become disillusioned of being disillusioned. The corruption is there, but it hardly ruins it all. Something always rises against it, and it only ever remains for sometime in between three days and some over a century. Take lady Farore for example. I won't say much, so to protect her integrity, but know that there is a reason the mortals have given a drink that dulls their minds of judgement the name of 'Liquid courage,' and I'm sure it is the one you think."

It was an answer as good or better than any other, so the fairy could not truly be mad at him. It was a fine discussion, all in all, though she was not entirely sure what she gained from it. If nothing else, it would make for fine gossip when her sisters return to their strength.


	16. Chapter 16

"Snap!"

He had no words. He had learned not to underestimate those younger than him, but this...

To recap, he had been sent to find Purah, the sister of the Sheikah elder Impa. An elder that had been near thirty, as far as he could guess when he knew her that long century ago. He had found a woman named Purah, but there was one problem:

She was three.

They had made the journey to Hateno, one of the few towns left standing after the calamity. It wasn't a particularly difficult trek, but the hard part was gathering enough gossip and conversation fragments to piece together where the sheikah super-genius lived. The leads took them to a rather isolated tower atop a hill on the far side of the village. It's decorations were sheikah enough for Link to be certain that this was the right place, but the moment they opened the doors, they were face with the technology tot.

For a while after they arrived, they just stared at each other for what might haver ben ten minutes. It seemed neither party expected the sight they found. The child genius looked in awe at the unexpectedly-revived Zoran monarch, who stared right back in shock at the three-year-old master mechanist.

However, she made quick work of the scene, realizing that they would not have any answers for her, and that they more than likely came to her for them. She introduced herself, and that brings it back to the present.

"I would say it's nice to see you again, but I don't technically know either of you." she said with a laugh. Feigning purity with the face of a child, a technique Link had experience dealing with.

"Now then, let's cut the fat and get straight to the point, kay?"

She spoke like she was young, but there was enough hesitation whenever she said a line like that. He could swear that he could hear her muttering to herself, wondering if that's what the kids these days were like.

He gave himself a mental scolding. Now was not the time to draw parallels to a certain other ancient child he knew. They were sent to this woman by Impa, surely that was enough to trust her.

"So, your sheikah slate is busted? That is quite fixable, b~u~t...I need a favor. There's a fireplace-looking thing just outside the door, and there should be a furnace type of thing down the hill. I need you to bring some of the fire from that furnace up to this fireplace. Simple, right?"

[* * *]

"Dear Hylia, what took you so long?" Purah asked.

"Aren't you some kind of genius? Fire and rain don't exactly mix."

For a moment, Purah stopped in her tracks before she could think up a retort, shocked in awe from where the annoyed comment came from. Soon after, she immediately pulled out a notebook.

"Mute subjects...will regain...speech...and sar-cas-tic... tendancies! Where were we? Right! Fixing your slate. Give it here for a moment."

She beckoned her small hand, reaching out. With slate in hand, she moved over to a detail that Link had missed in his first visit. She had one of the stalactites that the shrines and towers had built right into a corner of her lab. It seemed to operate in a similar way as she placed it into the matching pedestal.

 ** _Sheikah Slate Autheticated..._**

 ** _Distilling Rune..._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

It was more polite than the previous ones, at least.

"There we go! Good as new. Well...good as it was when we found it, at least. Take a look! The camera and album functions are fully operational."

* * *

It was a long and technical explanation, but Mipha was able to glean what she hoped was enough from it. The sheikah slate had once been property of the princess of Hyrule proper, this Zelda person that was currently locked in stalemate with the beast in Hyrule castle. Across her duties, she would use this camera rune to instantly paint a picture of whatever she pointed it at. Apparently, the pictures already in the album could help Link remember things, but this left Her with a question.

"Um...Miss Purah? This helps Link, and I am thankful for that, but is there anything that you can do for me?"

With that, the short sheikah woman looked at the floor, and Mipha prepared for the worst.

"I'm truly sorry, your highness..." the title still made Mipha's spine shiver, "but these were the only pictures left in the album. You've met my sister already, so I'm sure that you already know that you were completely unexpected. I have nothing to offer you in terms of your past. "

It was the exact phrase that she didn't want to hear, but she knew it was what she would get.

"Nothing...at all? I...understand." Being constantly reminded that she wasn't supposed to still be alive hurt, more than words ever should. It was a sharp, dull pain that ran through her chest, straight out her back, and curved down her stomach. It hurt, but something occured to her in her pain.

"Wait..." she said as she began rummaging through her travelling pouch "What... about... this." She asked triumphantly as she pulled out her mini-slate, but Purah's reaction was far from what she was expecting. At first she squinted, as if she were unsure as to just what she was holding. Her eyes widened as she recognized the patterns, and a very audible gasp was heard.

"Where did you get this?" she cried as she promptly took it from the Zora. She ran the entire device over three times with her eyes before Mipha could respond.

"It...it was in the same stand as Link's when we woke up..."

"Impossible...it wasn't there when Link was placed in it, and the doors were shut tight from the inside to insure uninterrupted process...where in Nayru's name did you..."

Before Purah could finish her little aside, the mini-slate flared to life.

 ** _Fingerprint confirmed: Purah of the Sheikah._**

 ** _Relaying message:_**

 _You have questions, I left answers for you. If you want to find them, I suggest you take one last trip to the Plateau, oh eldest daughter of the Sheikah leader._  
 _Or would that be youngest daughter now? I can't imagine you feel very old. Or...wait, were you already the youngest? I'm afraid my memory isn't what it_  
 _used to be. No offense meant to others present. Oh, I remember now! You two were twins, correct? But here I am rambling. I really must rid myself of that habit._

 _In any case, dear Mipha, I'm afraid you won't find any help with your memories here, and for that I am deeply and truly sorry. Though worry not! I'm sure_  
 _that it shouldn't be long now until something of note returns._

 _but until then, adieu_

As anonymous as ever, aren't you mister benefactor? Such casual sarcasm, such little care for the very people who you are supposed to be benefiting. Would it kill him to put a little urgency to his words? Let it be known that Mipha thought herself rather slow to anger, a trait that she would hope that she had perfected what with being... well she'd rather not finish that thought. However, this somehow omnipresent figure was beginning to march on her nerves. She tried her best to hide it, and took back her mini-slate.

"Well, I think we should be off. At the very least, thank you for helping Link."

The young Sheikah was left still shocked, and why wouldn't she? She had no explanation for what had just happened, and all she had now was a very vague and sudden hint. Mipha actually had half a mind to turn around and give her own help but as the two left, Mipha could hear Purah shouting.

"Symin! Get the field equipment ready, we're going on an expedition!"

* * *

It had been hours, but they had only just made it past the gates of fort Hateno. It was basically a graveyard of Guardian carcasses. Maybe carcass was the wrong word, but it was accurate. The arachnid-esque machines stared lifelessly in any which way. It was impossible to avoid their sight. A wanderer they talked to near the doorway shared the story of this place. They say that a mighty warrior fought here, fending off each and every guardian that tried to breach the wall. Not a single one passed through, which is why Hateno went entirely untouched in the crisis, but the warrior lost his life. A short but tragic tale. Link wondered if he by any chance knew that man all those years ago. If he did, then he felt horrible for leaving him to defend the wall alone.

The sun had hidden in the same place it always did at this point in the day. It was out of sight, it's influence slowly being drained from the sky as the curtain fell on the day. While being able to see where he was going was of course a huge help, Link simply could not deny that the night held bounteous beauty. The cool and crisp air, the fireflies drifting in and out of sight with their bizarre dance, the inexplicable lack of ambiance, leaving only the sound of horse hooves to echo out into the dark. The sky, holy Farore the sky. It had rained for most of the day and past days, so now the heavens had nothing left to dump on to the earth. Not a cloud in sight, the celestial painting on full display. Every start told it's own story, every group made an image and the moon...

The moon...?

Was it supposed to be that red?

He had spent longer than he thought enjoying the scenery, the sun had long left and the moon had risen high, but not the way it should have. It loomed menacingly over the land, like a giant, irritated eye staring down the innocent people of Hyrule. Link knew nothing good would come of it. His mount slowed its pace, clearly disturbed as much as Link. He felt Mipha pull herself closer to him on the saddle. She was getting worried. He tried to make the stubborn horse move, anywhere would be safer than here in the open, but move he did not. In fact, as the crimson eye moved even closer to its apex, it bucked both riders off. Link cried in surprise, and with an ungraceful thud landed on his back. Mostly unfazed, he picked himself up and looked around, searching for Mipha, but what he found was terrifying. A red and black mist filled the air as the sky turned red as the moon. He heard hisses and snarls of monsters all around, but even worse was when he saw Mipha.

She lay on her side, gripping where he knew her scar was, and groaning in pain. He moved to approach, intent on helping her, when all of a sudden her pain turned to laughter. The moon had reached its highest point, and the red-finned girl rose slowly off the ground, laughing maniacally all the while. She stood and inspected her surroundings, acting like she had never been here before. She looked towards Link, and the air was knocked from his lungs. Mipha's eyes, normally so calming and gentle, stared at him jet-black and leaking the same red mist the filled the air. Whatever it was that Link was looking at, it was the furthest thing from Mipha imaginable.

" _Why, if it isn't the young Hylian champion. Funny, I could have sworn I heard that you had died to a guardian... though, I suppose I could say something similar to this girl's body_." The being said.

"Who are you?!" Link cried at the not-Mipha.

" _My name? Hmmmm, that's a new question... I believe... yes, I think my master called me... Waterblight. But that wouldn't mean anything to you, would it? I must say, you're not quite as strong looking as I had been lead to believe. Some proper strength training would do your body some great benefit._ "

The creature spoke in a semi-seductive tone, the other half filled with venom. It was making a joke of Link and how weak it thought him to be. This Waterblight clearly felt itself superior than most.

"What have you done with Mipha?!"

" _Oh my, you're a few years to late to ask that. You haven't figured it out? Wait... don't tell me..." The monster began laughing anew, "Oh, this is rich! You haven't any ideas who you are do you? Do you even know who this 'Mipha' is_?"

"I'll ask again..."

" _Oh, no just-just give me a moment, I need to compose myself. Ahem... Okay, my name is Waterblight, and I am the one who killed this fine young lass that long century ago_."

The confession hit like a stone talus made of despair. He was currently speaking to one of the foul demons that had taken over the Divine Beasts?

"H-How..."

" _Am I here? Oh, quite simple. I can imagine how you were revived, what with that loathsome, God-blooded **WRECHT**_ _keeping my dear master locked up in that sad excuse for a castle, but this girl? I took care of her death personally_. _She was dead proper, stabbed through the heart and sliced in two by MY spear.."_

Link hated how proud this devil spawn sounded of killing his companion.

"... _and I just so happen to know EXACTLY where her soul is, so with her body minus a driver, I can take over whenever I should please. And, oh..."_ She shuddered to herself, basking in her own presence, _"...I please."_

Link gritted his teeth. He would like nothing more than to take arms and slay this she-devil, but then Mipha...

 _"Unfortunately, my own power is being repressed just as my master's is. It pains me to say that you can only enjoy my company during a blood moon. Oh, but you wouldn't know what that is either, would you? Well, see how beautiful the moon is? My master's power is at its peak as the moon when this happens. Oh, such a wonderful time! Monsters are brought back from the dead, food tastes SO much better..."_ She let out a little moan as she ran her hands down Mipha's body.

" _Oh, have I been upsetting you?"_ She walked slowly over to the hero. " _Well then, you're perfectly welcome to my humble abode any time. Just make sure you call ahead, and be sure to be punctual."_ She wrapped Mipha's arms around him and leaned up to his ear, and he was powerless to resist lest he injured Mipha. " _I'm sure that a fine young man like you wouldn't want to keep a girl waiting..."_

That was the last straw. He pulled himself away, careful not to do anything harmful. "You're about as far from a woman as anything could possibly get!" he yelled, pure rage in his voice.

" _Oh my, you really don't remember, do you? I wasn't talking about me, you know."_

What? But she was the only one in the machine! Who else could it possibly...

oh.

Oh...

His face was now red from an emotion different than anger. There was no way, Waterblight couldn't have meant-

" _Aha! There it is! A fine young man indeed. Though, I must say, it isn't very chivalrous of a knight to keep his princess waiting for one hundred years."_

"You're lying!" that was the only explanation. It couldn't be anything else.

" _Oh, I am not. I have heard her. All her memories, locked here in the place she died, kept in place by the monster that killed her. Every night, she cries enough tears to fill a new ocean, wishing for the sweet solace of moving on, calling out for someone to come.."_

"Shut up..."

" _And not just anyone, no, she calls for one person in particular, the man she wanted to spend her life with,"_

 _"Shut Up..."_

 _"Oh, it's such pure sadness, '_ Please, help me... Please Link, please save me... Please...'" the monster mimicked Mipha's voice perfectly, it was Mipha herself begging for freedom, it was Mipha sobbing in between pleas...

" _Oh, bless her soul, I had never heard such sadness...Though, it really is no surprise. She was such a weakling-" _

"SHUT UP!"

Link felt more anger now than he had when he first saw Ganon. It was pure, unadulterated hatred, all directed at this THING controlling Mipha. Why was he so enraged by its words? Where was this anger when he had learned of the princess Zelda, locked away in Hyrule castle? Something deep inside himself knew why, but he didn't want to believe the words of a demon. There was no possible way it was telling the truth, right?

" _My, my... Did I strike a nerve?"_

The monster had a final laugh before it looked to the sky and scowled.

" _Oh poo, my time is up. Farewell for now, dear hero."_ She blew a kiss to the man in question. " _Do try to stay alive long enough to meet me in person. I'd love to be the one who took rid this world of two thorns in my lord's side. Toodles!"_

The sky returned to its normal night pigment. This blood moon, as Waterblight called it, was over. Mipha crumpled to the ground, and Link rushed to her side. Her eyes fluttered open, and she put a palm to her forehead.

"Ooh...Why does that horse hate me?" She seemed entirely unaware of what had just happened.

...Perhaps that was for the best.

He put on as happy a face as he could and forced out a fake laugh. He helped her to her feet, and helped her as they made their way to the stables for a rest.

It turned out to be anything but; The demonic laugh of Waterblight echoed through his nightmares whenever he closed his eyes.

* * *

 _ **Author's note:**_

Did not mean for that to get as sexual as it did.

Sorry for the wait, guys and gals, I hurt my hand in robotics class drilling holes in an aluminium sheet, but all's good now. At least, it would be if I could manage to do anything besides play Splatoon and watch tokusatsu drama. Yeah, I'll admit I've been procrastinating, but I'm back and ready write more, and if all goes well, I should make it to the part you've all apparently been waiting for before American thanksgiving.

Probably.

Hopefully.

We'll see how much plot I still need to get through.

But until then, this is Sobakiin, signing off.

Don't take life too seriously.


	17. Chapter 17

It had only been a handful of days, but the hero had already returned. He was surprised by how quickly he had made it to and back from Hateno. As far as he could figure, it could take a week with how much along the way that would have been of interest to the young couple. The "boy's" impression was quickly dashed when he saw the look in Link's eyes. The more temporary inhabitants of Hyrule have a saying that the yes are the windows to the soul, but he was sure they had no idea how true that was. It might have been the reason he had no eyes himself, but he had never bothered to ask. On the other hand, he could read the eyes of others near perfectly, and what he read in Link's was something he had unfortunately seen before.

Pick a name: rage, anger, determination, drive, purpose, it was all the same given the right situation. Something had happened. Something involving but unbeknownst the Zora who lacked any similar look in her eyes. Something that he would no doubt be incredibly unwilling to share judging from the false calm he wore. Especially not with some random child who didn't even know his own name. For now, he would need to wait, at least until he made himself more trustworthy.

In the meantime, there an other thing that caught his attention. The old and technically late hero of...wait, what was his official title again? Eh... the wolf was missing. The fluffy, black pile of intimidation was nowhere to be found. Worrisome, but he was a seasoned warrior. With swords built into his mouth, how much danger could he possibly be in?

"So, where'd that wolf run off to?" he tried to say as he approached. He was cut short as all his focus was turned to not flinching in disgust from the smell.

At first, he thought nothing of it. So what, they fell down a hill into proof that goddesses know what had been there prior. Doesn't quite happen all the time, but after those crazy ideas the wolf had told him the hero had actually tried putting into action, he doubted it would be a stretch. However, his nose knew the truth. He recognized the smell, and he understood the hidden rage in the young Hero's heart.

His travel companion alone was the source of the stench. It was a putrid scent that he had only smelt twice before; the lingering scent of a demon.

But that was impossible. There was currently only one that he knew of in all of Hyrule, and it was trapped in a castle. His influence was palpable, but...

He mentally scolded himself. He had forgotten the blights. Before its imprisonment, it had sent those vile fragments of itself to take control of the Divine Beasts.

But that was impossible. They needed to stay inside the Beasts, otherwise the soul of the champion would regain control of it. In theory, it would be possible for one to reach an empty vessel and take it over, but they would need to know about...

A second time, he scolded himself. There would be one that knew, the very one that killed her. It would be able to feel Mipha's soul being drawn to its old home. Yet another factor he had neglected to consider. Putting the poor girl's second chance in danger seemed to be turning into a habit. He needed to start paying more attention. Perhaps those three were right to send someone to make sure he didn't ruin things beyond repair.

Heh, the golden three being right about something involving him. The world truly is ending, it seems.

Old vendettas aside, he still had a mission, and that was to help the hero (or in this case heroes) with theirs. Their next destination was clear: Zora's domain, with very little time to waste.

Steeling himself against the scent, he approached once more.

"Hey, where'd that big dog run off to?"

* * *

Link hadn't even realized he was minus a companion. He had been quiet for however long he was with them, any point along the journey would have been a prime spot to leave. There was one moment that stuck out though, and he realized that he had noticed he was missing, but just never that he didn't come back. It had to have been around the time he had to warm Mipha up, an embarrassing point that he was glad for the privacy.

In thinking on it, he realized that he still didn't know much about that canine. Perhaps he had gone back to his pack? No, when they first met, he came down piece by piece from the air itself, his pack would not have been anywhere in Hyrule, if he even had one.

He felt sad that the wolf had left, but there wasn't much he could do about. He had made for good company when he would have otherwise been alone with his thoughts, and his combat and hunting skills made him a powerful ally, but he still knew nothing about him. He didn't even know if he had a name. He wouldn't know where to start looking, and there were far more pressing matters to attend to.

"Anyway, where to next?"

Speaking of ambiguous comrades...

"Zora's domain. It's the closest and it might spark some of Mipha's memories."

He had spent the better part of the ride from the stables thinking of that explanation, and it was as convincing as he had hoped. It was painful, keeping the truth from Mipha, but every time he looked into her eyes, he saw how nervous she was about the whole situation. She was more than capable of handling herself in a fight, but she was still a living being. She shared every emotion that he could have. He never wanted to see something that terrible again, but how would the person it happened to react to it? No, this was something he would keep to himself, perhaps forever. He felt ashamed, lying to the woman who had saved his life as many times as he had gambled it and lost, but if he told the truth, it could hurt her more. He couldn't bare to see that.

"Zora's Domain, huh? That's actually a pretty quick trip from here if you know where to go. Lucky for you, I do! It's...wait...uh..."

The child turned in place a few times, looking at landmarks, where the shadows were pointing, and alternated between scratching his head and holding his chin. He hummed as he looked from armour shop to general store to pumpkin patch, clearly lost.

"...Thhhhhhaaaat waaay...maybe..." he pointed back up to the cliff the fairy fountain sat on. "Yeah, that way, for sure."

There was a slight glint in the boy's eyes. He was the hardest to read person he had ever met, but Link could at least tell when the boy was enjoying himself. He knew where it was, he just wanted to make a joke out of it.

He still trusted this kid about as far as he could throw him, but - wait, that might be pretty far, actually...

Regardless, he knew how to brighten an atmosphere, and on a grim quest like the one they fond themselves on, that was a rarity.

* * *

It had been a while since she had been to this place. It certainly was a lot more barren and monster infested than she remembered, but that was to be expected. What wasn't expected was how challenging it would be to return. Her... less than average stature made the climb up the sides absolute hell on her artificially youthful limbs. Symin had been kind enough to try and help, but he was a lab assistant, so there hadn't been much in his favor physically. But, through some combination of luck, ingenuity, and some guardian legs they managed to reboot, reprogram, and repurpose into a machine-made-for-climbing-walking-and-all-around-movement-to-be-named-later, they had somehow made it to the top of the Great Plateau. Isolated from the kingdom, but not from the calamity, it was hard to imagine that there was once anything up here.

Purah shook herself. There would be time to admire the lack-of-scenery later, they were here on an expedition.

Fortunately, their device-who's-previously-stated-name-is-to-long-to-remember was more than quick when it came to movement. Or pretty much anything else they needed, for that matter. Rocks in the way? Climb over it. Bokoblin attack? Grab it by the head and throw it against something. Accidentally stumble across a Talus? Hot-foot it in the opposite direction and forget it hap- HOLY HYLIA WHERE DID THAT ROCK COME FROM!?

It took a minute for her to remember exactly where the shrine of resurrection was. Surely, nobody could blame her, right? It has been a century, after all. Anyway, she was sure it was right around here. It had to be, they had checked everywhere else.

Around there it was. She had forgotten how well hidden this thing was. It was certainly a lot more decrepit since Link had been placed in here. All the walls were worn down, something incredibly hard to do with the sheikah metal. She really needed to think of a better name for this material.

Now then, that small Sheikah slate that the not-so-late Mipha had with her apparently came from the same place the regular Sheikah slate was left, which was a bit deeper into the shrine. As they went, she found that the clothes that were left for Link were gone from their chests, hopefully taken by the hero himself, but if studying ancient Sheikah tech had taught her anything, it was that there was always an alternate chance. One more room in, and they had found the healy-bed-thing, name pending. So many things to name, so little time.

The object in question was no more than two meters in length, perhaps only one in width. The exact same measurements they had taken when they had first discovered it. While that was all well and good, it was clearly only made for one person. In theory, it could be able to heal two people, but...

If those two had been in here at the same time, then there would not have been enough space in the bed. No, thinking on it, they weren't exactly the largest subjects that could have been chosen, but even then they would had to have been rather cramped lying next to each other. Either that, or they would have been rather... intimate.

Multiple images were immediately created in her imagination. Images as innocent as them embracing each other, and other, much more vulgar ones that a girl her age had no business knowing about. She shook herself from her mind. One question remained.

This technology was a powerful discovery, there was no doubt for that, but it was far from perfect. For one, there was only one, making it impractical to use in the midst of a war. Second, it was slow. After initial tests with minor injuries, she gained a good formula for calculating how long it could take to heal other injuries, a calculation that told that the burns and lacerations that Link suffered would take at minimum 70 years, not counting for internal damage due to the fact that there was frankly no time. Hell, that was the entire reason she had spent so long on that de-aging rune, so she could perhaps spark some memories with a familiar face. Which leads to the third point: The memory loss. If this was made to revive soldiers, then it fell short that it would erase years of training and practice. It was very, very slight on the minor tests, but with the scale of battle injuries, it would be near complete blank slating.

While this was all cause for complaint, the second point called to light an inconsistency with the results of Link and Mipha. With wounds as severe as Link's, it would take 70 years, but two at once? That would more than double the time taken as it would need to take extra precaution so as to not mix their genes, and correct any fatal mistake it made if it neglected its precaution. All that only being if the two had equal injury, but she had seen the remains of the poor girl, and they compared to guardian shots like a shattered ribcage compares to a paper cut. To completely heal that AND bring her back from beyond... there were more than just the sheikah at work here.

She surveyed the area, looking for any form of tampering or even evidence that there was someone else who had been in the shrine. She looked for any form of security, but there was none. Perhaps that was something she could fix later. Moving on, her analysis reached the pedestal of the sheikah slate, a requirement for the shrine to even start. The top had been very clearly modified, but something else caught her attention. There was a sign in front of it. Whatever it used to say was illegible, as the wood was far to rotten and mossy, no doubt thanks to the damp and dark surroundings, but the sign itself showed that, whoever had built that message into Mipha's slate, they had been trying to help from the beginning.

Speaking of the sheikah slate, the pedestal were it once acted as a catalyst for the shrine had a second, smaller hole incorporated into it, just the right size for the Zora princess' slate. Someone definitely had been here.

The more she searched, the more less obvious clues she found. A worn down section of the floor that had the shape of someone sitting in it, a dent in the ceiling of a securely sealed of room that was definitely not there one hundred years ago, but the most damning evidence was not found by her.

"Hey Purah, you might want to take a look at this." her research partner called.

"What did you find, Symin?"

"There's a panel loose in the bed's base, I think I can pry it open."

She was intrigued. Her old scientist mind was shifted into drive by this mystery, and she could tell that this was about to change the gear. Symin grunted with effort as he opened up the poor repair job, and Purah could not believe what she saw inside.

It was entirely different from when she had last opened up this panel herself in her research. It was massively overhauled in some parts, in others simply better tuned, but she could tell one thing from the upgrades: who ever did this knew what they were doing, and what they were doing was making it more efficient. It was miles better tuned than anything she had ever even planned to add. She was sure that they weren't trying to completely void all her research notes, but it still made her slightly envious of their intellect.

In the midst of all the advances, however, there was one piece that was missing. Rather, it wasn't connected to anything. A large segment, no doubt filled with even more machinery to improve the shrine, but it was simply collecting dust in a corner. She pulled it out of the hole, and upon closer inspection, found writing on it. It was in the language of the ancient sheikah, but she had spent long enough studying it to know how to read it:

 _If you are reading this, then you are either Purah of the Sheikah, or some jackass familiar with sheikah tech who's  
trying to rob the Shrine of Resurrection. If you are the latter, then screw off. None of this concerns you. If you are the  
former, then I bid you welcome! I apologize for how rude I was in my message, but you must understand that I  
wrote that thing after a century being alone in the dark with nothing to keep me company but my thoughts and  
that infernal leak in the ceiling. You no doubt are wondering how the shrine of resurrection healed two people so quickly,  
and that is because I tinkered with it a little. To be brief, it's a lot faster now. I could have made it even faster, but  
I needed to make sure that pair's sleep lasted an even century so I didn't screw much else of history up. No, I won't tell  
you what I mean. Find some way to plug this piece in, and the shrine will go even faster, but I had to leave it out._

 _Any way, I hope that answered any questions. I would tell you my name, but I don't exactly have mine at the moment.  
_

 _See you, maybe._

Purah really hadn't any form of response, but now she knew to some degree what had happened. She knew the what, but the why, who and how remained blank. Someone was helping the heroes, and for that, at least, she was grateful. She couldn't count how many nights she had spent feeling sorry for Link over that long century. A life without any of his comrades...

Without the woman who loved him...

She was glad that he wasn't truly alone.

Furthermore, if this block she was holding was as powerful as that person said it was, than there might even be more.

"Symin, get out the tools, we're going to install this!" she paused for a moment. "Well, after we take it apart and see what exactly it is..."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

Not on any topic, but I just now realize that I stretched the plateau out way longer than it needed to be. So, sorry for that. This is my first time writing a story like this.

You would not believe how hard it was to pull myself away from Super Mario Odyssey to write this. I beat it in the first two days, but there is SO much post-game content. Well, here's the chapter, but I'm afraid I'll have to retract my previous statement about being at the Domain by Thanksgiving. While Canadian's celebrate that holiday in October, I have a Fall break coming up where I'm going to visit my Dad, and while I don't hate him, he's kinda strict on my digital access. It'll take maybe a week for me to get back, but I'll make it a long chapter to compensate!

But until then, this is Sobakiin, signing off.

Don't take life too seriously.


	18. Chapter 18

The rain poured.

No, that was grossely understating it.

Cascade...

No, that implies it's being gentle.

Not a single word existed that could define the rain's intensity. It was as if some deity or demon held some contempt for water and was violently disposing of it, sending it careening towards the Zora's Domain. Worse, it wasn't stopping. It had been raining as such for the past month, and not any sign of stopping had presented itself.

He had no idea as to why the Divine Beast had decided to turn on his people. Vah Ruta had always seemed to be the most gentle of the four. And yet, there it was, knee deep in the reservoir, spewing it's endless precipitate into the sky. The current was higher than it ever had been or ever should be. He had heard that Fronk's wife had been swept down the river when it rose to its current apex. At this rate, Hyrule would be flooded before Autumn danced across the winds.

He prayed under his breath.

Please, Sidon. It all rests on you, and whatever Hylian you find down the banks. It hurt the old king's pride to have to rope in a stranger to deal with the affairs of his own territory, but with the Beast's only weakness being the same as the most prominent of the Zora's, there wasn't well any other choice.

Godspeed, young prince.

* * *

The demonic deluge deeply dominated the desecrated domain.

It had taken him the better part of a half hour to come up with that little pun.

He laughed slightly to himself. It really wasn't a good time to be cracking jokes, though. What ever anarchistic apparition annexed authority over the atmosphere...

He was better at this than he had thought.

He shook himself. It was NOT the time for wordplay. It was NOT.

Though, there wasn't really much else that he could do, was there? He was out here looking for a Hylian. Well, "He" was. It was mostly the search party he brought. They insisted that they go while he waits further up river. If they found one, they would ask them to go meet with the prince, but there was a noticeable lacking of Hylian volunteers coming to see him. So, either they hadn't found any or prospect of fighting the equivalent of an enormous Sheikah guardian with power over ice was less than appealing to tourists. He couldn't imagine why.

He breathed a small sigh. He always did get passive-agressive when left on his own. Well, not always. Back when he was only thirty-five*, back when his legs had only just developed, there was one person who would always be willing to keep him company. A welcome gesture that she continued to offer well into his eighties, when he began learning about the world and the weight of his lineage. It was far to heavy a subject for such a young age to understand, but that person would always comfort him whenever it was overwhelming. Those were some of his favourite things to remember.

Yes, they _were_.

Until he caught up to a mere century ago. A century that felt only like a mere month ago. That was when it happened...

No, stop thinking right there. This was no time for sadness. He needed to stay strong. His domain, his people needed him to succeed in his mission.

Well, "His" mission.

Didn't he just finish thinking that?

He breathed a small sigh. What did it matter? He was alone, standing watch at Inogo bridge. Waiting for the Hylian that most definitely would come and help. Completely alone...

It was times like these that the realization hit harder than ever. When he realized that he no longer had an older sister.

* * *

He had never stopped to consider whether Zora's could sneeze. It was one of those things that he wasn't curious about until he learned that it was possible. Not once did he wonder, and it was a good thing too. His question was answered before he had thought of it.

It was barely audible, comparable to some of the small whimpers he's heard the wolf make when it was dreaming. It was very fast and very high pitched; it had taken Link a second to even realize what it was.

As it turns out, Zora do sneeze, as Mipha was more than happy to demonstrate.

"Sorry..." she said sniffling, "Some dust must have gotten up my nose."

They had been on the road for a while now. Link and Mipha rode horseback, while Navi kept up with a stroke of genius involving a shield and some rope he found. It clearly wasn't the smoothest ride, but it let him keep up with the group. The only road that was horse safe was back down the way they came in. It of course would have been faster to go down the other side, but the incline made Link doubt his poor horse would be able to keep its footing. On the other hand, safety came with drawbacks. The only way to get to Lanayru was back through and around the Dueling Peaks. It would take longer, but, at the same time, it made for easy opportunities to restock his supplies, something he hadn't truly done since they left the Great Plateau.

Still, hunting was certainly a challenge when the thundering hooves of his mount were calling out his position. That wolf would have definitely made this easier. Not for the first time, and definitely not for the last, Link found himself saddened by the canine's departure. He had only known it a short while, but they had bonded somehow by fighting and travelling together. He didn't make for good conversation, but he was probably still qualified for the most talkative wolf in Hyrule. He had a slight laugh when he remembered all the sarcastic looks he got whenever he did something particularly not smart. His back still ached a little from his attempt at a short cut to the temple of time. He thought they had become friends. Just where did he run off to?

"AH!"

He dove too deep into his memory. There was still quite some road left, he was sure it would have been fine if he just left the horse follow the road. What he didn't consider was what would happen if the horse ran clean over a large rock wedged into road, leaving Navi to ramp off it into the air.

With a grunt and a thud, the poor boy became reacquainted with the ground. Quickly, Link pulled to a stop and ran back to help him, Mipha fast on his heels.

"Are you alright?" the zora princess asked.

"Probably." he replied simply. "Maybe not. Give me a second..."

He moved everything that should be able to, articulating each joint a variety of ways. He stopped when he got to his left arm.

"Well, nothing's broken..."

He slammed his right fist into his left shoulder. There was an audible pop and a cry of discomfort, but he stretched a bit and stood up smiling.

"That aught to do it! I've taken worse. I'm sure you'll forgive me if I don't want to do that again."

It seemed their young guide was more durable than he had originally given him credit for.

"So, what should we do, then?" Link asked him.

"Uhum... there should be a stable up ahead, and the domain isn't much further after. We can check your horse in and just walk the rest of the way. The bulk of the way there isn't suitable for horses anyways."

"That sounds like the best couse of action, then." Mipha added.

"So it would seem." said Link, rising. "It's decided, then."

He looked towards where they were going. Zora's Domain was getting closer now, but something was off over the horizon. It was clear skies all around, but one area was an exception. The very area they were going to, central Lanayru, was under an umbrella of storm clouds.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

*This is assuming that Zora maturity equivalents are human years divide by ten.

You'll have to excuse me, I'm not at my best. I've been gone for a week, I've been drunk since I left. These so called vacations will soon be my death...

And I'm going to stop it there before it turns from reference to plagiarism. I cannot start to explain how sorry I am for the long wait. If I had to pick a reason, it would be some combination of "piles of tests," "visiting my dad," and "Grad prep," but I really don't have a concrete answer. To make up for that and how short this chapter is, the next chapter will probably the longest chapter I have ever written for this story. I'm going to bet 6,000 words.

By the way, the reference's song is Home For A Rest.

Don't take life too seriously.


	19. Chapter 19

The farther they went, the colder it got. Not the dry cold that he felt on Mt. Hylia, no. There, he at least had the warm, if at times itchy, doublet to shield him from the cold. This air was wet, and it doesn't matter how many layers you put on when the air is wet. The chill would seep through, filtering through your shirt to keep out any trace of heat, freezing every nerve attached to your skin from their end to their roots.

He was perhaps being a little hyperbolic, but he didn't think it was by much. With a slight shiver in his grip, he pulled up his Hylian hood, a wise purchase that he had made on his return to Kakariko. He had bought a second for Mipha, and a Hylain tunic for himself so that she could take the doublet. He knew from experience that she was far more susceptible to the cold than he was.

As he was with most other things, young Navi was indifferent to the drop in temperature. He marched on with his steady pace, his small and innocent grin refusing to leave his face even with the heavy overcast that had decided to roll in. Well, perhaps it wasn't the weather that rolled in, they had just walked into the weather. Either way, the rain that he had seen from the stables was definitely not far off. The sky was darkening, through either or both of the aforementioned methods, and the sight did not comfort Link. The smell was worse. Instead of the sharp, humid, yet somewhat refreshing smell that rain normally brought with it, the storm air reeked with the pungent odor of monster presence. He thought it would disappear once all enemies were disposed of, which could very well be the case if there were not encampments upon encampments of lizalfos, bokoblins and moblins the entire way.

First, there were the Lanayru Wetlands, as the map called it. A small squadron of lizalfos crawled its three-centimeter depths, the flat landscape giving them complete visibility around the area. Stealth was impossible, so the only option left was a direct confrontation. Link had trouble reading their movements at first, but the advice that Navi gave him proved correct. Seemingly unpredictable, but most of their attacks could be countered the same way. Then came their small fortress on the river. The lack of ground gave the fleet-footed reptiles an advantage, but both Link and Mipha had by now learned how to read their movements. Each enemy fell with a well placed parry, dodge, or the impressive headshot that Navi made on the single enemy that hadn't noticed the invaders. Their little siege had ended quickly, giving the group some less damaged weapons. Unfortunately, their quality didn't last for very long. The nearby sheikah tower had caught the group's attention, and its base was surrounded by more monsters. Link was beginning to think that he was under some form of divine punishment. Perhaps he should stop collecting so much meat.

The battle was gradual, and the bokoblins unorganized. They spread themselves far to thinly across the small hill, resulting in many blind spots in their patrol. For a moment, Link was grateful for the rain. Its dull and continuous splashes drowned out every other noise in the vicinity. With much cover and noise pollution, sneak attacks proved to be the most efficient way of dealing with the small horde. Masses of red, blue, very large red, and very large blue would have littered the hill if they didn't have that strange tendency to disintegrate on death, leaving only the trio alone with a very slick tower to climb.

"Doesn't seem like it's going to dry off anytime soon..." Navi observed. Link caught a small, roguish spark flash in the boy's eyes. "Hey, Link, pass me the Sheikah Slate."

"Uh, okay..." The hero in question obliged. "Just try not to drop it."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." the boy said, immediately starting up the tower.

"What are you doing?" Mipha asked, worried.

"You two are important, so if you slip and break your neck, Hyrule is in danger. I'm not so important, and a pretty good climber." He spoke as if he held no value in his life at all. Link moved to protest, but Navi was far beyond earshot before he could. It seemed he wasn't lying about being a good climber.

No more than ten minutes passed before a large splash was heard in a nearby pool, and after some sputtering.

"I'm okay!" Navi reassured them. "Probably..." he loudly whispered. "Anyways, I got the map, and then some. There was a Zora on top of the tower, and he had some interesting information."

"How did he get up there?" Mipha asked.

"He said the thing just sprung up under him and he's been stuck up there since."

A twang of guilt hit Link, as he had been the one to maker the towers appear in the first place. The same feeling he got when they had met the paranoid bridge guard on their way to Kakariko.

"I wouldn't worry about him, though. He said something about working up the courage to dive to the river, and it really isn't that far a horizontal jump. I'm getting sidetracked. He said that the Zoran prince or some such figure was looking for a Hylian to help him with... well, I didn't actually ask him about what, but with any luck, he's related to Mipha somehow, and you two can get to work doing hero stuff."

It was as good a lead as any. "Did you catch where this Zora prince was?"

"A bridge up ahead, I know the one. Should be labelled 'Inogo' on the map."

Sure enough, there was a bridge named just that ahead on the road. It was a bit of a ways still, and they would need to back track a little bit through the now deserted lizalfos camp, but it was the entrance to the most direct route to Zora's Domain.

"Alright then." Link said, putting his Sheikah slate away. "Next stop, a meeting with royalty."

* * *

"Mipha..."

It had been so lonely without his sister. Without her, all the prince had was his father. There were of course the dozens of female Zora's who swoon whenever they catch him in their peripheral, but he didn't quite know what to think of them. His fanclub, as they called themselves, were attracted to his deeds and position, but they don't understand who he is or why he tries his very best to defend the domain. They were far too young to have been present for that tragedy. Of course, one could argue that he was too young to truly remember the incident himself, but when the thing supposed to symbolise your people's shinning blue beacon of hope turns into your sister's blood-red gravestone in an instant...

Well, suffice to say something like that isn't easy to forget.

It had been so long now... since that awful day. He hadn't forgotten the day, but, as much as it pained him to admit, he has nearly forgotten his sister. Not forgotten that he had once had one, but forgotten what she was like. She was surely the same brilliant red that he and their mother all shared, as he was sure that neither of them had inherited their father's deep sea blue, unfortunately. Besides that, however, he couldn't remember much about Mipha.

She was gentle and kind, yes. At times, some would call her soft spoken, that much he was certain. But her personality, her words... He even struggled to recall what her face looked like. There was also someone else, someone who would often accompany Mipha. He couldn't remember much about him either, or even if he was a he. The young prince remembered this other person initially being as short as he was at the time, but they grew much faster than he did. By the time Mipha had left him, he remembered the person being as tall, perhaps even taller, as her. It truly was a mystery. An unsolvable one, as his three attempts to ask another Zora about it had ended in a look of scorn to the sky and an aggravated huff as they walked away. Who was he? He felt as thought he was closing in on the answer, as though it was in arms reach...

A collection of splashes reeled him back into the present. Someone was approaching. He stood, looking back towards the domain. Perhaps more soldiers had been sent to help with the search. No such luck, the path to the domain was deserted. Strange, he thought. Where was that sound coming from?

He turned, and a strange sight was caught in his eyes. He double took, triple took, and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't imagining it.

He had thought that they would have been lucky to find one Hylian who was willing to help, but they had somehow found three. They seemed to have a height scale to them. The tallest was a male, though a young one. Third was the youngest, shortest, and happiest out of the trio, also a male. The second, he couldn't quite make out. Their face was all but completely concealed by their hood. However, by their build, he could only guess they were female. Perhaps they were a family? No, that couldn't be it, even the eldest of the three was far too young to even consider having children.

They were younger than he had thought the travelers would have been, but this was beyond his expectations. As a general rule, the younger Hylians were, the more agile and active they were. Well, to a point, of course. One wouldn't expect a baby Hylian to sprint across Hyrule field, so he wasn't sure he small one would be much use. Nevertheless, he was grateful that the goddesses were merciful on his quest.

They approached the bridge, and Sidon noticed something of about the older Hylian. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him, but the Zoran prince could not shake a feeling of familiarity when he saw the man's face. Sidon tried to steady himself. The young man had likely just visited the domain when he was younger.

They were practically under the pillar that the prince was standing on. He took this moment to call out to them.

"Say, hey there! Young ones!" He called.

They stopped their advance and seemed to search for the source of the noise.

"Up top! Above you!" He called again.

Their gaze shifted, following the sound of his voice as their eyes climbed the tower. It wasn't long before their eyes met his. He smiled a little. These people were going to help him save the domain. He needed to make a good first impression.

He leaped from the tower, flipping through the air, feeling as though he was swimming through the rain as it fell. He had no doubt that they were impressed when he landed and saw the looks on their faces as he stood to his full height.

"Pardon me, but you're Hylian, aren't you?" He asked them as he raised his hands.

"I was hoping that you would perhaps had a moment to talk."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

It's shorter than promised (6 000 words), but I have made a new decision to make two more of this length (2 000 words) before Christmas as my present to you all. Now, I don't mind if you open this present early, so enjoy part 1 of 3 of my gift to all of you beautiful people who decided to click on my story out of all of them on the list in the Legend of Zelda section.

Don't worry about getting me anything, the satisfaction that people enjoy my writings is more than gift enough.

Until next time, this is Sobakiin, signing off.

Don't take life too seriously.


	20. Chapter 20

Early Author's Note:

Here's a minor rewrite. I didn't like how it turned out the first time, so here's what I hope to be a better one.

* * *

With the rain pouring as hard as it was, Link should have had trouble seeing who was calling to them.

Should have.

Against all odds, the blazing scarlet tint of the Zoran colossus stood out like the weak point of a Talus. He was not only incredibly easy to see, but easy to hear. The large piscine figure had a voice that echoed out through the drowning cry of the rain, but just fell short enough to avoid being called a shout. He was speaking, though a little loudly, with what Link hoped was excitement.

"Aha! Hylians, I knew it!"

Yes, it was definitely excitement.

"Oh, pardon me, I suppose I should introduce myself."

The large amphibian raised his left arm so that it was across his chest and bent upwards. Some might think that he was attempting to flex whatever you called the muscles Zora had in their arms, but Link somehow knew better. What this man was doing was an act of positivity and reassurance.

"I am Sidon, prince of the Zora!" he proudly announced before flashing his serrated jaws in a slightly intimidating smile.

Now, he wasn't sure what it was about the prince, but there was something about how he introduced himself that made him seem incredibly trustworthy in Link's eyes. His words reached out into the noise that surrounded them, as if they were trying to help anyone nearby find this shinning beacon through the rain. He stood tall and proud, defiant to the gloom that surrounded him; any light that missed his fiery scales was instead reflected off his regal, yet modest garb. It served the double purpose of quietly displaying his position while giving extra protection to areas that could need more than scales to defend them, all the while keeping the man himself aquadynamic. Despite his immense stature, the last thing that Sidon seemed to want was to talk down on people. This was definitely who that Zora from the tower spoke of as needing help, and Link was completely willing to lend his aid.

"And what would your names be? Go on, then, please tell me!" Sidon continued, energetic as one could be without making a fool of themselves.

"My name is Link,-" he started, but Sidon interjected.

"Link?"

The prince became lost in thought for a moment, a look of deep pondering dawning on his face as his gaze running over the hero in question.

"I cannot shake the feeling that I've heard that name somewhere before..."

Sidon shook himself. "In any case, that is a fantastic name for someone who carries themselves with as much power as you! I could tell by the way you work that you are no ordinary person. I've been searching a long while for someone as such. Link, tell me, you must be a strong warrior among Hylians, correct?"

"Well, that's what I've been told..." Link responded truthfully. He had no idea if he was as strong as everyone said he was. For the past while, he seemed to be relying a slight bit too much on his companions.

"Brilliant! Right now, Zora's domain is in grave danger because of the massive rainfall caused by Divine Beast Vah Ruta!"

Link heard a small gasp come from Mipha, and Link was sure he understood why. Ruta was Mipha's beast, she was the one who piloted it in the battle that century ago. He could not begin to imagine how awful it felt to hear that something that belonged to her was being used for such evil, even if she could not remember operating it.

"Please, promise you will help us! Lend us your strength, warrior!"

It was quite a dire situation, Link could hardly believe the prince could keep the smile on his face. Perhaps he was simply ecstatic because he had finally found someone who could help. In any case, Link could not refuse the offer to help. With no hesitation, he agreed.

"Truly!? Thank you, Link, you are indeed the man I thought you were!" Sidon exclaimed. The prince turned to face up river. "The cliffs will be far too wet to climb, so the only way to reach Zora's domain will be to go straight along this path. I know Hylians are unable to swim up rivers, and as such the road will be treacherous. There are many monsters along the way that can attack with electricity, but..."

He turned back to face the group of heroes, and struck that same pose of reassurance. "Don't give up! I'll believe in you the whole way!"

Link couldn't help but smile back. "Wouldn't dream of it, your highness." he said with a chuckle.

"Ha! I have chosen well, it seems! I shall go ahead, to make sure there is nothing strange going on where you're headed. I'm counting on you!" When Sidon finished, he turned back towards the river, and, after an incredible dive, was off to do as he said he would.

A moment after the prince left, Navi spoke up. "I know he was distracted and probably didn't mean anything by it, but it was kind of rude that he didn't ask for the names of the rest of us."

Link laughed. "Perhaps, but I'm sure he means well. He was probably excited that someone had agreed to help. Though..." he paused, "I can't seem to place it, but his face seemed familiar somehow."

"I felt the same thing." Mipha agreed, "Perhaps it's merely family resemblance? I would think the current prince would somehow be related to a princess, though I did live so long ago..."

There was a tinge of sadness to her voice; she didn't want to consider how much family she had lost over the years. It was a thought that had crossed Link's mind a few times , as well. It was quite a solemn subject, but there were more important things that needed doing.

He tried to break the silence. "At any rate, we should get going."

It was easier said than done, unfortunately. Sidon was incredibly correct about the path's treacherousness. There were Lizalfos at seemingly every twist in the path, sitting, waiting for their next meal to run around the corner avoiding the repeating volleys of the Octorocks. Most would have been struck down, but they had a destination, and it was imperative that they reached it. The volleys of Octorock projectiles were rebounded directly back at their source by a simple shield. That is, if they could be fired at all before an arrow shaft found itself imbedded in the creature's forehead. The Lizalfos were as predictively unpredictable as ever, the main difference being the better weaponry and colourations besides green. Their high speed and erratic movement made them more challenging than the Octorocks, but only by so much. With so much noise surrounding them, the ambiant perception of the reptiles was limited to listening for the whistle of the Octorocks artillery fire, which made them easily surprised when there were no more Octorocks left to whistle. Even when the element of surprise was lost, Link and Mipha easily dispatched any stragglers that remained.

It was a slog through the rain and the monsters. One would think the ground would be nothing but mud, and one would be wrong. The ground was rock solid to the point that it was a miracle any type of plant grew in it, and that was somehow worse. It had the opposite of effect of mud: instead of his shoes stickling to the mushy dirt, the surface was too slick to get much traction. All of this was worsened by the rain itself. His tunic was beginning to get soaked through, even with the leather reinforcements. He could only imagine how difficult it must have been for the shoeless Mipha, but he doubted the rain itself was causing her much problems. She was a Zora, after all, they were supposed to thrive in the water. That didn't change how cold and wet it was, though, and he could swear it was getting colder.

* * *

He hated himself for not seeing it.

He hated himself for not paying attention to the moon as they travelled back from Hateno.

He should have remembered the feeling, the horrible chill that went down his spine as that crimson stained eye rose to it's full height, laughing at his futile attempts to reduce the monster population.

It happened at what he assumed was about half-way to Zora's Domain. They group had just finished dispatching a rather large group of Lizalfos, all armed with bows that fired bolts. Not crossbow bolts, no, that would have made it too easy. Their bows shot lightning bolts. They would crackle through the air and electrocute anything in the general area where they landed. It was a fight far more harrowing than any other camp on the way, because these Lizalfos in particular were organized. They had lookout towers everywhere you would think there should be a blind spot, and all five of them within earshot of each other. Yes, their numbers counted only five. Five normal, green Lizalfos. That's how much power those electric arrows carried. And that wasn't the worst of it.

The path led directly into their camp, a small road with a large slab of rock and Link immediately felt the sting of their bows. It rocketed up and down his boa, burning everything else on the way. When his ears started working again, he found out that Mipha was caught in the strike's radius as well. That was the last mistake the Lizalfos made. Before he let the monster knock another arrow, Link shot three of his own. He wasn't sure how he did it so fast, but he felt extraordinarily tired after. Unfortunately, there was no time to rest. The remaining monstrous archers were aware that they were now minus one, and they began closing in.

Link knew it would be impossible to win when they were such easy targets with such little maneuverability, so he took a chance. He raised a soldier's shield, the only wooden defense he had, and charged forward as a distraction.

"Get Mipha out of there!" he commanded Navi. He didn't check if Navi followed said orders, though. He had archers to fight.

It was an uphill battle in both senses of the term, but Link didn't waver. He wasn't sure where all this fighting spirit came from, and he didn't have time to ask. He ducked, dodged, and rolled out of the trajectory of any arrow that he could hear. The crackling noise was a dead giveaway to when he should, but some were uncomfortably close. Once up the incline, he commenced business. He fired his bow, and there were three monsters left. He rolled, blocked, parried, and broke a broadsword. Two left. He jumped directly between them, and jumped out when he heard one ready to fire. He heard the other violently screech as the electricity found the wrong mark. One left.

Standing amidst its fallen comrades, Link saw thought he something resembling anger in the monster's eyes. Then again, he could just be seeing a reflection of his own eyes. He wasn't entirely sure why he was angry, but it was the same rage he felt when that blasted demon had the gall to posses Mipha. Though, he wasn't sure what made him so angry then, either. He stared down the Lizalfos, weapons at the ready. A red tint appeared behind it, unbeknownst to the monster itself. A spear point found a home in the monsters abdomen. Mipha was alright. There were none left.

Link took a sigh of relief. He took it too soon.

He looked at his Zora companion, and the sigh was replaced with a hard gasp. Mipha was on her knees, clutching her chest and groaning in pain. This can't be happening, not here. They were so close...

But the blood moon could not care less, and Link hated himself for letting it happen.

The Lizalfos were reborn in an instant, the mist swirled and bent and morphed into the angry reptilian faces. Their weapons were repaired, their wounds were non-existant, and least fortunate of all, their quivers were full to the brim. All five of the hideous fiends were joyously drawing their weapons, taking aim at the Hylian that had just killed them not ten minutes prior. Link prepared himself for another battle, but a voice caught the attention of all present.

" _Hold your fire, boys."_

Link instantly recognized the melodious toxins that permeated the sound. It was a voice Link wished he could forget.

He turned to face the voices owner, praying to Hylia, offering anything he could think of to thank her if it wasn't the one he thought it was. His short prayers fell on deaf ears, it seemed.

Standing in the place Mipha fell- No, standing in the place of Mipha, was Waterblight. He gritted his teeth at the absence of Mipha's eyes.

" _Dearest me, if it isn't Link! By my master, it's been ten years if it's been a day."_

He wished it had actually been ten years. At least then there was a chance he could have forgotten what this... this _thing_ and it's master had done to Hyrule. Though, he supposed he already had.

" _Oh my, tell me, why the scowl? Are you not happy to see me?"_

"I'd be happy to see you dead."

That comment made Mipha's cheeks puff up in a pout. Were it a different circumstance and person, Link might have thought the action cute. But it wasn't different circumstances. It was rather hard to look cute with crimson fumes leaking from your eyes.

" _After all I did to get here, the least you could do is greet me properly."_

"Oh, you're right, I'm so sorry." he said with a bow that he tried to make as insulting as possible. "It's nice to see you again, demon who is holding the soul of my compa-" No, he couldn't call her that. Not yet at least. "-my friend hostage in a giant mechanical beast that's flooding her homeland."

That one made her laugh.

" _That's more like it, my dear champion of Hyrule."_ Her laugh paused for a moment _"Though, I'm not sure how applicable that title is these days. I would assume it would be quite difficult, being the champion of a land that no longer exists."_

Mipha's body continued laughing, and that enraged Link even further.

"What do you want, Waterblight?"

It slowed its laughter. " _Oh, nothing grand. The revival of my master, death to all who oppose him..."_ it paused and looked down.

 _"...legs..."_ It said with a hint of sadness. " _...But I suppose that's not what you meant."_

Mipha's head shook slightly. _"I'm simply here to check on my favourite champion. You know, see if you followed my suggestion and stayed alive thus far. Thank you for that, by the way"_ she added with a wink.

 _"And, of course, I just couldn't help myself from accessing this lovely vessel of your compa- no, sorry - your friend. I know must have already said this before, but-"_ She ran Mipha's hands up her body, hmm with contentment, " _-you have wonderful taste."_

Link's anger surged once more. Mostly pointed at the Not-Mipha, but a fair bit was towards himself. If ha hadn't taken the long way to Lanayru, if he had simply followed the path out from Kakariko, they would have been able to arrive before this blood moon. They could have made it to Zora's Domain days ago. They should be freeing Vah Ruta at this very moment, but no. He had to take the horse back through Dueling Peaks, wasting precious time. And he hated himself for it.

But at the moment, he had an alternative outlet.

"Well, here I am. You can either leave peacefully, or I can force you out of there myself."

It was a bluff, of course. He couldn't risk hurting Mipha.

" _My, how very heroic of you, threatening an innocent girl. Honestly, that is no way to address a woman."_

"Really? I must be a little out of practice. Good thing there aren't any women around."

A clear look of annoyance appeared on Mipha's face. Completely contrast to her usual self, it was honestly intimidating, but he wouldn't let her know that.

Waterblight raised its borrowed arm and snapped the fingers that belong to the poor Zora girl.

" _Warning shot."_ it said in a threatening voice.

Reflexively, Link quickly jumped backwards, readying himself for... something. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but whatever was coming, he stood his ground.

And stood.

And stood.

Whatever it was supposed to be, it was certainly taking it's time.

No, it was more than that, the look of annoyance was replaced with confusion. Something was wrong. Link scanned his surroundings, searching for something that would be considered a 'warning shot.' They were surrounded by a thin forest and rows of cliffs, but nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing had changed since he defeated the Lizalfos.

Wait, since he defeated the...

He saw now what was wrong. Any trace of those electro-kinetic bottom-feeders had vanished. He initially thought that Waterblight was the cause of it, that he was threatening to make him vanish, but the look on her face said otherwise. It was just as confused as he was. For a minute, he was out of ideas to explain this small distraction, but then he heard the culprit's voice.

"Man, it's pretty difficult wielding a broadsword with only one hand when you're as small as I am."

Link took a short sigh of relief. It was a strange pitch, but he recognized it.

He turned to face Navi as he walked up, plugging his nose with his right hand and dragging along a sword that was two thirds his height in his left.

"Hello!" he said with a smile covered by his arm, "Who's this?"

" _I_ _could ask you the same thing, little one."_

Link was sure he would never forget Navi's reply.

"I'm sure you could. Mind you, I won't answer, but you can ask."

It could not have been a worse time for a joke, and yet Link would have been snickering uncontrollably if it wasn't such a bad time. Instead, he only sharply exhaled through his nose.

Mipha was made to not look amused by this. _"You may be cute, but you're quite irksome."_

Again, Navi had the perfect response. "Wow, a ten thousand year-old lady thinks I'm cute? What an honour!"

There was audible anger coming from Mipha's body, but she simply turned to Link with a forced smile.

 _"Link, dear, you must keep better company. It can't be healthy to travel with someone who has a death wish."_

He took a split second too long realizing what that line entailed, and was a split second too late reacting. With unnatural speed and strength, Mipha's spear was airborne, hurtling towards Navi's chest. Link was only fast enough to turn. He couldn't do anything as he saw the scene unfold before his eyes. The force of impact knocked the boy off his feet, the spear's momentum carrying him backwards. The poor navigator flew back-first into a tree, the spear continuing on it's path and leaving him stuck.

 _"Well, that was fun, but I must be going. I've wasted too much time as it is."_

Words failed him, and only one thought entered his mind: _Like **hell** you're going to leave. _

For a moment, Link had a hard time seeing colours as he turned to face the demon. With rage lit anew, he charged, half as another bluff, half actually trying if he could separate it from Mipha, half consumed with the need to avenge his two comrades.

One move and sentence was all it took to stop his advance cold.

 _"One more step and I break her neck."_ Mipha's body said as her arms wrapped around her head.

There was no jest in her voice. No more false purity was on her face. Waterblight was being entirely serious, and that unnerved Link by an extreme amount.

"You wouldn't..." but he knew he was trying to convince himself that.

" _And why wouldn't I? I have places to go, plans for this body, and if I can't get close enough to my own body by the end of the blood moon, then I'd have to wait for the next one. Honestly, tell me, what reason would I have to not? I'd already sliced this girl's spine in half."_

Link wanted to...

No, that doesn't begin to describe it.

Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to do several different things.

Stall for time, continue your charge, step back and retreat, give Navi a proper burial, for the Goddesses sakes man, do _something._

And something he did. He stood there. He watched Mipha's body walk away. And by the goddesses he hated himself for it.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

I must apologize for several things.

First: I can not apologize enough for how long this took. For my absence in January, I blame finals. For my absence for the first half of the month, I blame the new term and all the new homework from my new classes. For my absence from then to now, I blame myself. I have a terrible habit of procrastination, even for things that I enjoy doing, so I can only apologize for my accidental hiatus.

Second: How weak the ending was the first time around. The first time I wrote it, I was running off of three cans of pop and two grilled cheese, so my head was running faster than anyone's should have been able to. I was working with a deadline in mind while completely ignoring that I had two more days in the deadline I gave myself. If nothing else, the take away here is "don't write while sugar high."

And...well actually, that about covers all I can think of off the top of my head. I'll try and have the next chapter ready by the end of next week, but I'm not sure I'll be able to promise anything.

But, until next time. It feels good to say this after so long.

This is Sobakiin, signing off again after nearly two months.

Life itself shouldn't be taken seriously, but there are aspects of it that deserve your attention.


	21. Chapter 21

For the first time since he had left the Great Plateau, Link was alone.

He stared down the path that 'Mipha' had left on, his leg's refusing to move.

 _Why did you let her leave?_

What else could he have done?

 _Anything at all, but you just stood there as she left._

She would have been placed in even more danger if he had.

 _So your solution was to just let her leave?_

Could he have done anything else?

 _How should I know?! Aren't you supposed to be the heroic knight?_

Yes, that's what he was supposed to be. At least, that's what he had been told.

 _Some hero then, just standing idly by when a defenseless girl is kidnapped. A princess, no less._

The voice in Link's head was winning the argument, but he was to tired to notice. The clock had long passed midnight, and there were several battles throughout the day. It was surprising he had even noticed they were arguing.

 _What exactly have you done to even earn that title? What makes some guy who woke up in a cave worthy?_

That...

Link's gaze shifted downwards.

He wasn't sure of that himself.

He had been told since waking that he was this hero, but since then, not much had proved their words. At every turn, it seemed he was being beaten to his knees, only for someone else to save him. He likely wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Mipha's skill with a pike and her healing abilities.

So far, the only thing he seemed to have any notable skill with was picking up anything that isn't nailed down. He had amassed more supplies than a caravan would know what to do with. Among the weapons he had acquired, Link did not seem to have much skill wielding them. He was passable with anything, but was far from mastery. He remembered faking bravado when talking to Impa, and he became quickly infuriated at Hateno, far more so than a hero had any right being.

At this point, the only proof there was that he was a hero were the words of those who knew him 100 years ago, who said he was a knight back then, protecting the princess of Hyrule.

 _Yeah, and you were so good at it that you died before you could even attempt the very thing you were meant to do, and now that same Hylian princess is doing your job better than you could. But hey, on the bright side, at least you're consistently putting princesses in danger._

Shut up.

 _Whoops, sorry, I didn't mean to try and be reasonable. It's not like you could mess up any further. Mipha's long gone with some demon stuck inside her. At this point, she's probably as good as dea-_

"SHUT UP!"

...

He didn't know why those words in particular drove him back to reality. He hardly knew anything about Mipha, about as much as he knew about himself, but raging emotion would always swell within him whenever she was in danger. Each time, it was like he was on the verge of remembering something. He would keep her face in his thoughts and focus on it trying to force any buried memories from the recesses of his mind. Each time he failed.

This time was no different.

Link sunk to the ground. He was exhausted, but above all, he was cold. The rain hadn't shown any sign of stopping in the entire time he had entered it. Sidon seemed to have told the truth about the rain being created by a divine beast. He was cold when he entered, and then the sun set. The cold had long since numbed his body to the point that he could barely feel just how cold he really was. Which begged the question as to why his shoulder felt like it was burning.

His shoulder inspection was rewarded with a beautiful sight of an arrow sticking out of it, one of the strange ones the Lizalfos were using. His hand felt like it was being poked at by thirty needles as he pulled at it. One final shock arced between his flesh and the point as he freed it, making him flinch in pain. To his surprise, he wasn't bleeding. If he had to guess, the wound cauterized itself from the heat.

Tired beyond belief, he fell back on the ground. It was hard and somehow colder than the air, but he was at least thankful he didn't need to stand.

He was left with time to contemplate all of what had just happened, and he was left with one question for himself.

"What have I done?"

What surprised him was that someone answered.

"Well, I should think that much is obvious. The question you should be asking is what are you going to do about it?"

He was even more surprised when he found who said it.

The response came from behind him, part anger, part scold, part encouragement, and when Link saw the speaker, he came to the single logical conclusion.

He was hallucinating from exhaustion.

Navi, still pinned to a tree via spearhead, was somehow speaking, and was doing so with more vigor than most men could produce during their lifetime.

For a while, Link simply stared in awe at what his mind had imagined. For a delusional conjuring, it was stunningly vivid. Blood still poured from the open wound square in his chest, though there was something in the way stopping the full force. The face began to look annoyed, and the corpse spoke a second time.

"I ask again, what are you going to do now? Perhaps a better question would be what are you going to do about it?" There was more force in his words now, nearly becoming a call to arms, but Link was no more roused than the first time.

"What does it matter?" he answered.

"It matters plenty, you need to tame the Divine Beasts." Navi rebuked.

"Someone else can do it."

"No one else can do it."

The ghost was becoming an annoyance

"Why not?" Link demanded as he stood in anger. "Why am I so important? Everyone I've met so far who has had anything to do with my past praise me as some kind of destined hero, never taking much time as to explain why I'm so important. I don't even know if these people we've met are telling the truth about me. I have no idea who I am, and all I know is that I woke up in a cave with a Zora."

He paused. The reminder of his failure made him return to the ground.

"...A Zora that I just lost."

Navi's face turned from annoyance to empathy. The boy seemed to have expected the argument, but he didn't make a counter point.

"Trust me, I wanted to help her too, but there was honestly nothing we could have done. That thing has enough power to control a Divine Beast without even using the controls, I have no idea how we could even begin to exorcise it."

The apparition paused to spit out some blood from his mouth. Rather, what Link hoped was blood and not assorted pieces of guts.

"I do know other things, though. For one, it's a four hour walk to reach Zora's domain, five if it's raining, and more if you don't have a map that's been updated any time in the past hundred years. Meanwhile, it's only three if you sprint the whole way, less if you do happen to have a map, raining or not. That thing has a head start, but you could make it to the domain before it gets to Vah Ruta, and you would have enough time to prepare before boarding the Beast and saving the girl."

It was a compelling point, but it didn't answer any of his questions. Link stayed on the ground, and stared at the illusion. The boy sighed in response as he fruitlessly tried to ajust his position of the spear.

"If you're waiting for an answer, I don't have one. People are made by what they have done, and you have the unique displeasure of having lost that. Your only hope would be to see for yourself. That slate has some memories, sure, but you would be more likely to learn from people who knew you personally, as opposed to some warrior destined to beat back Ganon."

Link could see where this was going. "Those people would be the champions?"

Navi had a small smile.

"And if that's not enough, I'll let you in on a secret. Only four other people even know Mipha has been revived. One of them is dead, one of them is over a hundred years old, one of them has the body of a seven-year-old, and one of them is pinned to a tree. What's more, you're one of the only two of those five that knows Mipha is in danger. And, again..."

He gestured to his chest.

"One of them is pinned to a tree. You're the only one who can help her, kid. Everyone who knew you said you were some great hero. Everyone except Mipha. I'm sure hearing all the stories of how you were skilled enough with a blade to defend the princess of Hyrule has planted all sorts of expectations on you from her."

That hit Link harder than it should have. Mipha was a princess herself, though she didn't know. If Link truly was as strong a knight as he had been told, than he had no place stepping away from royalty in trouble. He pulled himself to his feet and faced the ghost, who's smile grew wider at the sight.

"Now, I'm going to give you two choices. One: You can leave now, find some cave to curl up in, and let the guilt crush you as her expectations were made in vain."

Link winced at the idea. The hallucination had argued a spark of a fighting spirit into Link's head, and try as he might, it wasn't being extinguished.

"Or..."

Navi grabbed the subject of his impalement, and pulled. In one mighty grunt, he wrenched the weapon free from its bloody prison, and, after struggling to stand, presented the crimson-stained shaft to his witness. Link didn't know his eyes could open that wide.

"You can give Mipha her spear back."

Link wasn't sure whether to be impressed or nauseated. It was one of the most moving scenes he had witnessed in his short time being alive again, but the clear view of the tree behind Navi made his stomach threaten to vomit.

He decided to be impressed. The spark had a long ways to burn before he could match what lit it, but Link doubted anyone could stay still after seeing this.

He walked to Navi, not quite determined, but he realized something when he grabbed the spear. Something that made him want to rethink his choice to be impressed.

"This..." he stumbled back, "I'm not imagining this."

He was met with a small laugh. "I would hope not. I was quite proud of that speech"

"You...You're not a Hylian."

Navi laughed harder, causing more blood to pour out from his mouth.

"What gave it away, the shattered spine, the macerated heart, or the two punctured lungs?" Navi replied, offering to help the Hero up.

For a moment, Link forgot how to speak. He stared directly through the boy reaching his hand out. He wasn't bleeding anymore, likely because there was nothing making his blood move.

After staring for what felt like a minute and accepting the help up, Link had one last question.

"What are you then?"

This one was met with a sigh, and the answer was somber.

"I'll spare you my life's story. Half because it's quite boring, half because we don't have the time. In brief, I'm a warrior with some time to kill."

Link's dissatisfaction was evident.

"Tell you what. Stop the immediate threat of mass flooding and free the Divine Beast. I'll tell you the whole thing afterwards. Deal?" the boy asked, extending a hand.

"...Deal."

"Great," he groaned, sitting down. "Go on then, I'll catch up when I'm missing a few less pieces. Just be careful. As the old saying goes: it's dangerous to go alone."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

Not quite the massive chapter some would expect after so long, huh?

It's certainly been a hot minute, hasn't it? But, after graduation, diploma exams, cooling off after those diploma exams, job hunting, job working, volunteering, celebrating summer with my friends, and applying for college grants, I'm back in my writer's chair. Summer's been pretty hectic for my so far, but it seems to be evening out. I do hope you can forgive me for the accidental hiatus, I hate making you guys, gals, and others of various categories too numerous to name wait, but life gets kind of full sometimes. In the meantime, I'll work on this whenever I find some time to myself, but considering my track record, I don't really want to promise anything.

Take life as seriously as is required, it can be nice to stop and pet the pandas every now and again.

Sincerely, Sobakiin


End file.
